Centennial lineup to remain intact

Adam Candee

Wednesday, March 5, 2003 | 9:46 a.m.

Reach a hand into the talent pool at a high school of more than 4,000 students in Las Vegas' fastest-growing area and you cannot avoid pulling up athletic talent.

Overcrowding at Centennial, however, will likely force at least half of its students to the new Shadow Ridge High School in 2003-04, so that sporting talent pool will drain a bit. But anyone expecting to break up the budding Centennial girls' basketball dynasty will be sorely disappointed.

After her Bulldogs claimed the first consecutive girls' large school basketball championships for the South, Centennial coach Karen Weitz said near-final zoning for Shadow Ridge indicates her team may not lose a single player.

"As far as my varsity girls, I don't know of any other than maybe one," Weitz said.

Centennial loses only Arizona signee Rachael Schein from the team that capped a 32-2 season by beating Bishop Gorman, 59-44, in the 4A State tournament final Friday in Reno. The only junior in the Bulldogs' 2002-03 rotation was guard Karissa Fernandez, and every other key contributor was a sophomore.

That group of outstanding second-year players includes guards Ashley Blake, Whitney Price and Whitley Cox, along with forwards Sierra Chambers and Jordyn Bowen. These players have been part of the South's first girls' basketball championships in the past 22 years, and few bet against their chances of adding two more titles.

Foremost among the believers is Weitz, who challenges her players to a grueling year-round schedule and tough competition from their first days as freshmen.

"I stick them out there to play the best competition we can play," Weitz said. "If you've got kids doing that, then it definitely plays some factor in their learning to mature on the court."

Cherish the next month of rest and relaxation, Centennial girls' basketball players. Spring training begins in early April when the Bulldogs, with a group of almost exclusively one-sport athletes, will head to a tournament in Phoenix.

"They know they always have things to improve on," Weitz said. "That's the neat thing about them. They try to perfect every aspect of the game."

Perfect is a word that has applied to Centennial's program since inception. Weitz's four-year record is 124-7, a .947 winning percentage. The driven focus of Weitz and her players has allowed little time for reflection, though.

"Until sometimes I see our overall record or until people put it in front of me, I guess you don't think and realize it," Weitz said.

Centennial's only in-state loss in the past two seasons came in this year's Sunset Region tournament final. Gorman downed the Bulldogs, 51-49, seemingly puncturing the air of invincibility at Centennial.

Not so, Weitz said.

"You need to step back now and realize what happened and what you are going to do to make sure it doesn't happen again," Weitz told her players after the Gorman setback.

"We had our best practice of the year right after that loss."

The Bulldogs responded by ripping Chaparral, 75-31, in the state quarterfinals before hanging on to defeat Western, 65-58, in the semifinals to earn a revenge date with the Gaels.