Eagle girls prep for league tourney

By Brent Hinckley

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009 | 11:30 p.m.

The Boulder City High girls basketball team will face Moapa Valley in the first round of the 3A Southern League tournament on Feb. 19.

The teams split the regular season series with each squad winning at home. Boulder City won the first game 55-41 on Jan. 9, while Moapa Valley captured the second game 46-36 on Jan. 30.

"I think we're in good shape. We've earned the right to be here," Boulder City coach Brian Lemmel said. "We're peaking right now, and it's the perfect time."

Boulder City finished the season with a 9-10 overall record, 4-2 in league play. It is the No. 2 seed for the four-team league tournament, which will be played at Desert Oasis in Las Vegas.

The girls enter the tournament winners of three of its last four games, including a 41-36 victory against Virgin Valley on Feb. 13. Virgin Valley was previously undefeated in league play.

After being tied 19-19 at halftime, Boulder City held Virgin Valley to four third-quarter points. Senior forward Caiti Forrester led the Eagles with 21 points and was the only Eagle to score in the double digits.

"It proves what we've known all along that we're in the top of the league," Lemmel said. "We protected the ball and didn't give them extra opportunities."

Moapa Valley closed out its season with a 59-34 home win against Faith Lutheran, which went winless in league play. The Pirates were 11-13 overall and 3-3 in league play.

"I'm excited to be in the playoffs and have a shot at state my senior year," Boulder City guard Teri Yesh said. "We're going to have to pass around (Moapa's) zone and can't dribble into their traps if we want to win."

The Eagles and Pirates play the first game of the league tournament, tipping off at 3 p.m. Virgin Valley and Faith Lutheran play at 6:20 p.m. in the other semifinal.

The program's junior varsity squad finished up its season 16-0 with a 44-27 win against Virgin Valley. Freshman Taylor McKeever scored 15 points to lead the team, with freshman Ali Rants adding 11.

"We told the kids it's a rare thing to go through a season undefeated," junior varsity coach Harry Gibbs said. "It was a great group of girls."

Eagles boys face defending champs

Boulder City High's boys basketball team is one win away from reaching the 3A state tournament.

However, getting that win won't be easy for the Eagles, who are the No. 4 seed for the Southern League tournament. They face No. 1 seed and four-time defending state champion Faith Lutheran in the semifinals on Thursday

"I like it. We have an opportunity to give them a run. They've won it since they've been in the league and I'd like to be the team to beat them in the playoffs," Boulder City coach Bobby Reese said. "This is anyone's tournament this year. It's wide open."

Faith Lutheran won both regular season meetings of the squads this year, winning 61-53 on Jan. 23 and 71-37 on Feb. 6.

"We have to knock them out sooner or later if we want to win state. If we get in our groove and play defense the whole game, we'll do alright," Boulder City senior guard Joey Felsenfeld said.

Because this year's tournament is taking place in Southern Nevada, the top two teams from the 3A South and the 3A North meet in the state tournament. A win against Faith Lutheran would advance the Eagles to the league finals and guarantee them berth in the state tournament.

The Eagles wrapped up the regular season playing three games — two non-conference — in the last week of the season and went 2-1 in that stretch. Boulder City defeated Pahrump Valley 57-54 on Feb. 9, lost to Southeast Career Technical Academy 62-55 in overtime on Feb. 11. It ended the season with a 49-41 win against Virgin Valley on Feb. 13.

"I thought we created some momentum. We played great defense against Virgin Valley. If we keep that up, we'll be tough to beat," Reese said.

The eight-point win against Virgin Valley avenged a 55-44 loss the Eagles suffered in Mesquite on Jan. 16.

Senior guard Joey Western led the Eagles with 16 points. Boulder City gave up just 12 first half points and led 28-12 at the break. However, the Eagles were outscored 29-21 in the second half, but held on for the win.

"They wanted to get quick shots, but we made them take 45 seconds and they struggled against our defense," Reese said.

Boulder City and Faith Lutheran cap off the first day of the league tournament with an 8 p.m. tip off.

Brent Hinckley is the Boulder City News sports writer and can be reached at 990-7822 or [email protected].