Shorthanded Foothill succumbs to Valley’s pressure

Mike Sims

Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2005 | 9:17 a.m.

The Valley High girls' basketball team took advantage of a shorthanded Foothill squad and moved on to the semifinals with a 70-50 win Tuesday in the Class 4A Sunrise Region quarterfinals.

The Falcons lost star player Randi Kozik four minutes into the game with a torn ACL.

"It was a very competitive first half," Foothill coach Chris Sefcheck said.

Foothill led most of the first quarter, but couldn't extend the lead further because of sloppy play.

"We could have had a 14-1 lead, but we missed easy layups and other opportunities," Sefcheck said. "We had a two-minute slump in the second quarter to let them back in the game."

Valley was led by Yolanda Johnson's 25 points, 14 of them coming in the third quarter.

"We had a bad first quarter," Valley coach Barney Holmes said.

The Vikings led 30-24 at halftime, but their pressure defense was too much for Foothill to handle.

"We turned it up in the second half," Holmes said. "We were trapping and doing some things defensively to push ahead."

Valley had help from Shavonne Butler and Johnson, as both players combined for 34 points in the second half. Butler finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and five steals.

"She had a great game for us," Holmes said. "She rebounded great, seven offensive rebounds alone."

Valley will face Desert Pines at 3 p.m. Thursday at Coronado.

It was the Wildcats' second consecutive first-round playoff defeat at home.

Scoring information for Basic, which advanced to the 6:20 p.m. Thursday semifinal at Coronado, was unavailable.

Stephanie Bernas had 13 points for Eldorado.

Coronado advanced to the Sunrise Region semifinals, which it is hosting at its Henderson campus.

Douglas defeated Galena 67-66 and Reno held off McQueen 65-39, and third-seed North Valleys upset Churchill County at Fallon to move on. Undefeated Reed defeated Carson 97-50 to survive as the High Desert League's lone remaining team.

Sunset Boys' Quarterfinals

Chris Scott had 21 points, including four 3-pointers in the fourth for Bonanza, but it wasn't enough to finish the comeback.

Centennial earned a semifinal date with Palo Verde at 4:40 p.m. Thursday at Mojave.

Andre McFarland added 15 points and Eric Taylor had 14 points in the victory.

Quinton Carter had 17 points to lead Cheyenne.

Durango advanced to the 8 p.m. semifinal at Mojave.

C.J. Portz added 17 points and 18 rebounds for Bishop Gorman.

The Rattlers were led by Darnell Grier's 20 points.

The Gaels will try to beat rival Durango for the fourth time in a row when they meet in the Sunset semifinals at 8 p.m. Thursday at Mojave.

Lake Mead will play Lund, which beat Mountain View 70-59, at 4:40 p.m. Friday at Durango. Trinity will face Pahranagat Valley, winners against Beatty on Tuesday, at 8 p.m. Friday at Durango.

Spring Creek and Lowry advanced in 3A North quarterfinals.

Class 3A South semifinals are Thursday and 2A South semifinals are on Friday in Las Vegas.