Columnist Spencer Patterson: It may be time for south girls to break through

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, Jan. 27, 2000 | 12:01 p.m.

Spencer Patterson's prep sports notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at 259-4085 or spencer@vegas.com

Around this time every prep basketball season, we start asking the same question: Will this be the year?

Will this be the year a team from Northern Nevada wins the large-school boys state title? And will this be the year a team from Southern Nevada captures the large-school girls state championship?

As we gear up for next month's playoffs, the answer to the first question appears to be, as always, a resounding no. Boys teams from the state's northern half have done nothing to distinguish themselves thus far, while four or five teams from the Las Vegas area have demonstrated they are far better than the rest of the pack.

Bishop Gorman, Durango, Western, Valley and Las Vegas all appear capable of putting together a strong postseason run, and the odds of a northern squad beating anyone, to say nothing of two or three of them, look slim.

So it certainly looks like Southern Nevada will extend its streak of dominance over Northern Nevada in boys basketball to 24 years (excluding titles by California's South Tahoe in 1987 and '92).

But the other side of the perennial question raises a more interesting possibility, that of the first Southern Nevada girls title since 1980, when Chaparral captured the 3A crown.

Last season, for the first time in years, the south flexed its muscles at Reno's Lawlor Events Center, with Bishop Gorman, Silverado and Las Vegas all contributing strong performances in round one of the girls state tournament.

Although only the Gaels advanced, the south's first-round competitiveness opened more than a few eyes, as did Gorman's semifinal win over Carson.

In the end, only experienced, three-time defending state champion McQueen prevented a Gaels' championship. And this year, no girls team from Northern Nevada appears anywhere near the level of recent Lancers squads.

Reno High opened the year as the state's odds-on favorite, but the Huskies have stumbled. And though Reno might have the most talent, the Huskies showed how little that can mean last winter, missing the state tourney entirely after going into zone as the top seed.

Carson, Galena, Churchill County and Douglas have all played well this year, but none has distanced itself from the pack. And with four capable teams in Southern Nevada, that could spell victory for a Las Vegas-area squad come late February.

Centennial, playing like anything but a first-year squad, boasts the state's only perfect record and sits atop the Sun's state poll. The Bulldogs have a core of experienced players, including one of the state's top point guards in Tenecia Jackson. She could provide the type of leadership necessary for a state title run.

Centennial is lacking only in playoff experience, something the area's other three powers -- Silverado, Bishop Gorman and Las Vegas -- have in droves. All three know what it takes to win at the zone and state level, and all three have players capable of executing in clutch situations.

Unlike on the boys side, it's far from a shoo-in the south will come up with a girls state title this year. But with more parity in the north than Nevada has seen in years, it looks like a 50-50 prospect for the first time in a long time.

* TIDBITS: Silverado placed two wrestlers on the all-tournament team at last weekend's Aztec Duals in Tempe, Ariz. Heavyweight VR Bowman and 160-pounder Chris Burr both earned the nod after going 8-0 in their respective weight classes. Overall, the Skyhawks finished with a 4-4 record in the event...

After two weeks of bowling action, the Chaparral girls are the area's lone unbeaten squad with a perfect 16-0 record. Also with undefeated league marks are Silverado's girls, Durango's boys, Bonanza's girls and Cheyenne's boys and girls teams. Cimarron-Memorial's Eric Erickson boats the top individual performance -- a near-perfect single-game score of 290....

Cox Channel 48 will broadcast Friday night's Cheyenne at Cimarron-Memorial boys basketball game next Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.