Chaparral wins eighth straight

Matt O'Brien

Thursday, Feb. 12, 1998 | 1:24 a.m.

It was Senior Night at Chaparral, but an underclassman stole the show.

Six-foot-two sophomore Krystal Turner scored 22 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to lead the Cowboys to a 60-51 victory over visiting Silverado Wednesday. The win, Chaparral's eighth in a row, prevented Silverado from clinching the regular season Sunrise Division championship and kept the Cowboys a game behind second place Green Valley.

Green Valley and Chaparral meet tonight to determine the No. 2 seed in next week's Southern 4A Zone playoffs.

Chaparral coach Rochelle Whittaker, who presented flowers to her seniors before the game, raved about her sophomore center following the victory.

"She (Turner) played really hard and tough inside," said Whittaker, whose team improved to 16-8 overall and 12-3 in division play. "Most importantly, she kicked the ball out whenever Silverado double-teamed her."

Turner's teammates took advantage of Silverado's collapsing defense. Guards Stephanie Tyma and Kayla Shambaugh combined for 5-of-10 shooting from 3-point range in the second half to help Chaparral maintain its eight point (26-18) halftime lead.

"We practiced all week against the double-team," said Turner, who also contributed four blocked shots and two steals. "My teammates did a good job of knocking down the outside shot."

Silverado, which trailed 40-32 entering the fourth quarter, cut Chaparral's lead to four (54-50) with 32 seconds remaining but drew no closer. Turner made one of two free throws and Tyma added the front end of a one-and-one to make it a two possession (55-51) game with 11 seconds remaining.

Despite the loss, Silverado coach Diane Hernandez was optimistic.

"I'm hoping this will benefit us in the long run," said Hernandez, whose team finished the regular season 20-5 overall and 14-2 in the division. "We've bounced back from losses before and I expect we'll do it again."

The Skyhawks were led by freshman Jayme Conners 20 points and 6 rebounds.

Silverado must now await the result of the Green Valley-Chaparral game. If Chaparral wins, Silverado takes the regular season crown and the top seed in the tournament. If Green Valley wins, there will be a tie for first between Green Valley and Silverado.

Note to the editor: This article is written under the assumption that Green Valley defeated 0-11 Valley at home Wednesday evening. If an upset occurred, please let me know and I will make the necessary changes.