Reno guard turns in gutsy performance

Nick Christensen

Friday, Feb. 25, 2005 | 9:34 a.m.

Reno guard Kaylan King was a headache for the Bishop Gorman players Thursday, but a severe migraine, possibly caused by food poisoning, almost kept her out of the Huskies' 57-45 state semifinal win against Bishop Gorman.

King said she came down with headaches and nausea about three hours before the 6:20 p.m. start, and didn't ride with her team on the bus to the Orleans Arena.

"We weren't sure if we were going to have her," Reno coach Craig Campbell said. "I saw her at the game, she came in and played like a champion."

King said there was no doubt whether she'd be in today's game.

"It was painful but I had to be here for my team," she said. "I layed down a little bit, I knew I had to be here for my team."

In fact, the only team that has had off since last Friday that didn't trail at the end of the first quarter was Reno, which led Bishop Gorman 9-6.

"It was tough," Gorman boys coach Grant Rice said. "We took off Saturday and Sunday. I think that helped us. In the second half, we had our legs and I think that helped us."

Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association director Jerry Hughes said the attendance wasn't great, but wasn't bad.

"I'm not sure what we were expecting," Hughes said. "It's nice to be able to pay the bills, but it's nice to have great facilities for a great experience for the kids."

"They think it was because of the humidity, and having the hockey rink down there," said Marc Ratner, head of the Southern officials association and director of the Nevada Athletic Commission.

Crews put tape over the splintering parts and decided the court was satisfactory.

Orleans Arena general manager Steve Stallworth said the court, which the arena purchased last year from the WNBA's Seattle Storm, is experiencing similar problems to what would happen to the court at the Thomas and Mack Center during rainy periods.