Centennial girls to meet Douglas for state title

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Feb. 22, 2002 | 10:14 a.m.

Tonight's 4A boys championship

Cheyenne (30-4) vs. Bishop Gorman (27-6), 6:40 p.m.

Tonight's 4A girls championship

Centennial (33-0) vs. Douglas (26-5), 8:20 p.m.

TV: Both games on KTUD (Ch. 14) (Games at Reno's Lawlor Events Center)

RENO -- As they said their goodbyes at last December's Lady Bulldogs Holiday Tournament at Centennial High School, Douglas coach Werner Christen and Centennial coach Karen Weitz, a pair of longtime friends, made a simple pact.

"We said we'd see each other in the state finals," Weitz said.

Tonight, that envisioned scenario will become a reality, when Weitz's Bulldogs (33-0) and Christen's Tigers (26-5) match up for the NIAA/U.S. Bank Girls Basketball Championship at 8:20 p.m. at Nevada-Reno's Lawlor Events Center.

"We've been to their Christmas tournament the last few years, and this year I said, 'It'd be nice to see you guys in the finals,' " Werner said. "But that's the type of stuff you always say. You don't really expect it to work out that way.

"It will be a lot of fun playing them. They're the real deal -- really, really good."

After defeating Valley to advance past round one for the first time in three years on Wednesday, Centennial took the next step in its quest for a state title with a 62-47 win over Northern Region runner-up Carson in Thursday's semifinals.

Now, the Bulldogs will come up against the Northern champions, winners of nine consecutive games, including five in postseason. A victory would complete an undefeated season for Centennial. More importantly, it would bring the large-school girls championship back to Southern Nevada for the first time since 1980.

"We feel like the pressure is on them. They've got the 21-year itch to back up," Weitz said. "We'll come out with nothing to lose and play hard."

Centennial got all it could handle from Carson for much of Thursday's semifinal game, going into halftime leading by just two points, 29-27. But freshman Ashley Blake (20 points) and junior Rachael Schein (17) helped the Bulldogs pull away in the third quarter, combining for their team's first 10 points after the break.

"We had to come out and prove we could do it," Blake said. "But we can't put one foot in today and not put the other one in tomorrow. We've heard Douglas is a good team, very fundamental, but we've got to come out and play our ball."

Weitz said her club has been focused all week on representing Southern Nevada, with hopes of eventually evening out the longtime disparity between girls basketball in the state's two halves.

"We're really trying to give confidence to Vegas," Weitz said. "We told the girls before this started, 'If you don't have a presence up here, it will never come around (for the south).' "

After the game, Senators coach Paul Croghan was quick to credit Centennial, though he stopped short of classifying it as one of Nevada's most dominant recent teams.

"We tried to mix things up, change some things, but they handled everything well," Croghan said. "They had a few more scorers (than we did) and they got production from everybody on their team. Would they be 32-0 if they played up here all the time? Probably not, but they'd be one of the top teams."

In the girls nightcap, Douglas dashed southern hopes for an all-Las Vegas final, eliminating Bishop Gorman 54-43. The Gaels (26-7) effectively sealed their fate with 3-for-23 shooting in the third quarter.

"We put ourselves in the hole, and had to scrap back, which is difficult to do against a good team like that," Gorman coach Sheryl Krmpotich said. "A couple of shots here or there and it's a totally different ballgame, but you can say 'what if' all day."

Emily Haas scored 17 points for the Tigers, who also got 13 from Julie Gingrich and 12 from Andrea Honer. Breona Gray led the Gaels with 15 points, 11 of those in the final quarter.