Centennial whips Denver school, set to face big test

Leah Robinson

Friday, Dec. 21, 2001 | 11:25 a.m.

After trouncing the Denver area's George Washington 77-25 Thursday, the Centennial Bulldogs will face a more formidable out-of-town threat today as the Lady Wolves Holiday Girls Basketball Tournament continues.

Up next for the state's fourth-ranked squad: Morningside High (Inglewood, Calif.), which beat Green Valley 58-55 Thursday night at the Valley View Recreation Center.

Morningside (4-1) and Centennial (11-0) will face off in the Gold Division quarterfinals at 3 p.m. at Basic High School. Green Valley (10-2) will play George Washington in the loser's bracket at 3 p.m. at Basic in the auxiliary gym.

The Gators pulled to within one point of Morningside in the fourth quarter after falling behind by 15 early. Coach Alma Randolph credited the comeback to a switch from man-to-man to zone defense.

"I'm pleased they had that much heart to come back like they did," Randolph said. "There's no way of scouting out these teams, so we just did the best we could."

Morningside had a considerable height advantage over Green Valley, with three players over 6-feet tall.

"They were so much taller, their kids could just throw over the trap," Randolph said.

Still, Green Valley freshman Jabrenta Hubbard racked up 20 points, including two 3-pointers and a pair of free throws to pull her team within three with nine seconds on the clock. Junior Jenn Todd added 11 points.

The Gators suffered turnover trouble and a scoring drought of close to three minutes in the first quarter, giving Morningside the early momentum.

Randolph said she will not underestimate her team's next opponent, George Washington, despite its 52-point loss to Centennial.

"They could have had a bad night," Randolph said. "Any team is subject to those and then come back and play well."

Centennial coach Karen Weitz watched the Morningside-Green Valley matchup intently, and said her strategy for today's game will remain the same.

"There's no prep time, so it's just a matter of talking to my players about them," Weitz said. "They do have the height advantage, so I'll be watching how the big girls play."

Weitz noted Morningside releases its players early, meaning they are quickly down the court and ready to score after each play.

"That's how they got their quick points in the beginning. That could kill us if we're not ready for it."

Also advancing in the 16-team Gold Division bracket were Bonanza, a 66-51 winner over Rancho Buena Vista (Calif.) and Bishop Gorman, which defeated Fremont (Calif.) 69-18.

In the Silver Division, Western, Coronado and host Basic stayed in the winner's bracket. The Warriors topped Ranum (Colo.) 65-61, the Cougars downed Boulder City 52-39 and the Wolves slipped past Bassett (Calif.) 43-42.