Girls Tournament: Gorman defeats Carson 62-20

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Feb. 27, 1998 | 3:49 a.m.

The drought is over.

For the first time in three seasons, a Las Vegas-area team has reached the 4A State Basketball Tournament's final four, courtesy of Bishop Gorman's thrilling 62-60 victory over Carson in Reno on Thursday night.

The Gaels, who captured last week's southern zone title, stayed on their hot streak, becoming the first Las Vegas squad to win a game at the state championships since the 1994-95 season.

"I told the girls before the game, 'You're playing for yourselves, for your families and for your school, but you're also playing for southern Nevada,' " Bishop Gorman coach Tom Robinson said. "They knew they could do it. It was just a case of putting it all together."

Gorman (24-6) won despite losing junior center Paige Sutton early in the fourth quarter when she picked up her fifth foul. The Senators (21-10) took advantage of her absence, rallying from 11 points down to knot the score with 13 seconds to play.

But with just four seconds remaining, Carson fouled Jennifer Swanson away from the basket, and the senior calmly sank both free throws to lift her club into the next round.

Despite her foul trouble, Sutton led Gorman with 19 points, while senior forward Amy Roban wound up with 17 points. Elizabeth Cansdale also got into double figures for the victors, finishing with 14 points.

As a reward for their breakthrough victory, the Gaels get a matchup against highly-touted Elko (26-4), which set a new 4A tournament scoring record on Thursday, scorching the nets for 83 points in a win over Durango.

Still, Robinson said his club expects to give the Indians a run for their money today.

"We definitely think we can play with Elko," he said. "We have the personnel. To play with them, we have to play at the top of our game and play error-free."

ELKO 83, DURANGO 52: The Indians got 30 points from 6-2 center Lauren Beckman in the record-setting victory. Kathryn Symmes added 19 points for Elko, which took a 22-11 lead after one quarter and never looked back. Trailblazers center Angela Perrault wrapped up her high school career with a 15-point effort, as Durango ended its season with an 18-8 mark. Danielle Boyack scored 11 points in the losing effort, and teammate Shelli Gordon added 10 points.

RENO 55, CHEYENNE 40: Four of the Huskies' five starters scored in double digits, led by Melissa Padgett, who had 14 points. The Desert Shields (19-11) stayed close throughout, thanks mainly to a 26-point evening by senior forward Yolanda Banks, but managed only six total points in the final quarter as Reno (29-4) pulled away. "We're not disappointed," said Cheyenne coach Karen Weitz, whose team made the state tournament for the first time in school history. "Our girls did a gret job."

McQUEEN 81, SILVERADO 43: Center Kate Smith poured in 24 points to help the Lancers (20-10) to the easy win. The defending 4A state girls champs put the game away in the first quarter, outscoring the Skyhawks (22-7), 19-5. Silverado center Jayme Connors closed out her sensational freshman campaign with a 20-point performance, but her squad had no answer for McQueen, which got 11 players into the scoring column.