Gorman girls want respect at State Tourney

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, Feb. 26, 1998 | 12:20 p.m.

The last time a Las Vegas-area girls team won Nevada's large school state basketball title, Jimmy Carter sat in the Oval Office.

That's the legacy the players from Bishop Gorman, Silverado, Durango and Cheyenne -- several of whom weren't even born when Chaparral captured the Class 3A crown in 1980 -- will be up against when they open play tonight at the NIAA/ U.S. Bank Championships in Reno.

Over the past 17 years, the north's girls teams have taken off running, leaving the southern squads frozen in place. And the gap seems to be widening. It's been three seasons since a Las Vegas school even made it past the first round of the state tournament.

"There seems to be a significantly different level of play up here," said Reno boys coach Pete Padgett, whose daughter plays on his school's girls squad. "On a regional basis, Reno area girls could probably compete on a very high level."

So when Gorman, the southern zone champion and the top local seed, opens play tonight against Carson, the Gaels' mission won't be to win it all. They'll merely be trying to gain a measure of respect for their half of the state.

And after taking the Senators (21-9) to the limit before losing by four earlier this season, the Gaels (23-6) like their chances to win game one and make it to the tournament's final four.

"We're cautiously confident," Gorman coach Tom Robinson said. "We know when we play our game, we're capable of staying with Carson."

To do that, the Gaels will need a strong game from their inside duo of 5-9 senior forward Amy Roban and 6-1 junior center Paige Sutton. Ultimately, though, the team's success could depend on the play of sophomore guard Tiffney Touton, a first-year varsity starter.

"She's had a lot of pressure on her this year, and she's really come through," Robinson said. "She's the key to our press, and we'll have her play the point in tough situations."

If Gorman can advance to round two, the school will do something a southern zone team hasn't accomplished since Cimarron-Memorial won its first-round game in 1995 before bowing out in the semifinals.

Robinson pointed to the strength of the Las Vegas-area's club volleyball system as the key contributor for the lack of basketball success, with most of the top local athletes playing volleyball year-round.

"The (volleyball) club coaches try to keep them playing one sport, plus the club season for volleyball is the winter," Robinson said.

Also, area female athletes who opt not to play club volleyball still have a choice to make, between soccer and basketball. In the north, basketball is the only varsity sport offered in the winter.