Southern Nevada teams sweep semifinal berths

Adam Candee

Thursday, Feb. 27, 2003 | 10:06 a.m.

Prep Schedule

Boys

Today's semifnals

Cheyenne vs. Rancho, 3:20 p.m.

Palo Verde vs. Durango, 6:35 p.m.

Friday

Championship, 7 p.m.

Girls

Today's semifinals

Bishop Gorman vs. Las Vegas, 5 p.m.

Centennial vs. Western, 8:10 p.m.

Friday

Championship, 8:45 p.m.

RENO -- A Southern boys' sweep in the 4A State Basketball Tournament quarterfinals qualifies as ordinary, as Las Vegas-area teams have won the championship every year since 1992.

A sweep by Southern girls against the traditionally powerful Northern schools, however, is extraordinary. For the first time since the infancy of the girls' state playoffs in 1980, the South won all four quarterfinal games in the 4A tournament Wednesday at Lawlor Events Center.

That makes a perfect and rarely seen eight-for-eight for the South going into today's semifinals, guaranteeing a Southern champion in the boys' and girls' tournaments. In boys' action, Cheyenne faces Rancho, and Durango tangles with Palo Verde. On the girls' side, Bishop Gorman squares off with Las Vegas, and Western takes on Centennial.

"It's an all Southern group this year," Western coach Mel Washington said. "It's quite a statement. The South rules this year."

Today's boys' and girls' semifinals both promise more athletic and uptempo play, the brand of frenetic basketball -- especially on defense -- that frustrated Northern opponents right out of the tournament.

"We're being a little bit more patient on offense because we spend so much energy on defense," Cheyenne coach Larry Johnson said.

The South began its rise from girls' basketball obscurity when Centennial snapped a 21-year state title drought last year, and it took another huge step forward Wednesday.

Washington's Western team capped the evening with the most improbable win of the day, a stirring 60-51 upset of top-seeded Reno. Senior guard Renita Mitchell scored 33 points to lead the Warriors (SS-3) into a rematch with Centennial (SS-2) in tonight's semifinals. The Bulldogs reached the semifinals by routing Chaparral (SR-2), 75-31.

The Warriors have given the defending state champion Bulldogs fits this season, taking Centennial to overtime in December and then scaring the champs before losing by 12 in last weekend's Sunset Region semifinals.

Bishop Gorman (SS-1), a handy 48-37 winner over Fallon (N-3), squares off against comeback winner Las Vegas in the other semifinal. The Wildcats (SR-1) trailed Douglas (N-2) by 11 points early in the fourth quarter before rallying behind senior center Melisa Cejas' six points in the final two minutes for a 44-39 victory.

"(Today's game) is going to be a different pace," Cejas said. "It's going to be a tough game to play."

The game promises an intriguing inside matchup between Cejas and Gorman's starting frontline of Charity Renfro and MaryBeth Barnard.

On the boys' side, Cheyenne rolled through another opponent, dispatching Northern third seed Hug, 77-40. The heavily favored Desert Shields take on Sunrise Region champion Rancho in today's semifinals.

Johnson expressed a sentiment about his team that others seemed to display throughout the day.

"The kids came in pretty relaxed," Johnson said. "That's been the whole focus since we came up here."

Cheyenne takes on a resurgent Rancho team that survived a first-round slugfest with Carson, 63-61, thanks to senior forward DeMario Butler's 28 points and 14 rebounds.

Rams coach Mel Shivers said his team "can play with Cheyenne" and he looks forward to a better effort now that Rancho is accustomed to the new environment at Lawlor Events Center.

"My kids weren't acclimated yet," Shivers said. "They were still tired from the trip. We still haven't played our best game yet."

As Shivers finished his interview with the media after the Rams' win, the coach looked up with a wide grin and exclaimed, "I like this!"

Durango, which upset top-seeded Galena, 66-55, faces Palo Verde in the other boys' semifinal. The Panthers downed Durango, 64-60, in the teams' opening game this season, but both are markedly improved from that time.

"We're right back where we started," Durango coach Al LaRocque said. "We definitely have our work cut out for us."

The Panthers took care of fellow Southern entrant Valley, 68-49, in the day's opening game behind 18 points from senior guard Josh Steffen.

Faith Lutheran, the Southern 2A champion in both boys and girls, began state tournament action today.