Columnist Spencer Patterson: Downstate girls hold own in holiday tourneys

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, Jan. 10, 2002 | 11:29 a.m.

Spencer Patterson covers high school sports for the Las Vegas Sun. He can be reached at 259-4085 or at spencer@lasvegassun.com.

Centennial's girls basketball team may have been the big winner at last month's Lady Bulldog Holiday Classic, but the tournament champs aren't the only area squad feeling good after the event.

Any local girls team that studied the tourney's scores must be encouraged about Southern Nevada's chances of finally breaking the north's 21-year grip on the large-school state title.

Four of Northern Nevada's strongest squads -- Elko, Galena, Douglas and Reed -- participated in the four-day event. And though the quartet combined to go 18-6, a closer look reveals their southern counterparts largely held their own in head-to-head matchups, hardly the case in past seasons.

Case in point: Elko's narrow 53-50 win over Chaparral on day one. The Indians lead all northern teams with 15 wins, yet barely edged a team few expect to challenge for a state trophy.

The same goes for Douglas' opening 60-57 victory against Western. The Tigers are 12-4 and ranked fifth in this week's Sun statewide poll, while the Warriors are 8-8 and a long shot to claim a state berth.

The trend continued on day two, with Elko slipping past Green Valley 62-61 and Reed holding off Bonanza 66-64, and on day three, when the Indians fell to unranked Palo Verde 55-45 in an early game and defeated Western by just seven, 49-42, in their nightcap.

Throw in Galena's 1-3 performance against area teams -- including an ugly 34-point loss to the host Bulldogs -- and Reed's close 55-53 win over Palo Verde in the third place finale, and there's cause for much optimism in the Las Vegas area as the postseason draws near.

It should be noted that the north's top two squads, Churchill County and Reno, did not come down for the event, and they may very well represent their region at state. But for local hopefuls Centennial, Bishop Gorman, Bonanza and Green Valley, the events of Dec. 26-29 could be a sign the age-old gap between north and south is finally closing.

A key member of the Cowboys' 4A state title squad last fall, the versatile Bywaters played sweeper, midfielder and forward for Chaparral, scoring 16 goals and tallying 16 assists. He contributed three goals and two assists in his team's two state tournament victories.

"It's not very often that you get to say you've coached an All-American," Chaparral coach Dan Schell said. "It's a reflection on his hard work and his ability to shine and succeed with his team."