Bishop Gorman girls rout Palo Verde

By Brett Okamoto

Friday, Feb. 20, 2009 | 1:03 a.m.

A home court advantage did little for Palo Verde Thursday night, as Bishop Gorman advanced to the Sunset Regional Finals on a 70-37 blowout over the Panthers.

Despite holding the higher seed and playing as the 'home' team, Gorman found themselves in unfriendly territory for the semifinals.

But the Gaels wasted no time making themselves at home.

Behind stingy defense, the Gaels opened the game on a 14-4 run and kept the Panthers under 20 points for three quarters.

"It's just a trait that we believe in," said Bishop Gorman coach Sheryl Krmpotich. "Defense wins championships. We pride ourselves on that."

Palo Verde senior Hayley Henderson did the majority of scoring for the Panthers, finishing with 20 points. Freshman Jasmin Kiley was the only other offensive spark, finishing with eight points including a pair of late three-pointers.

Junior point guard Aaryn Ellenberg led the Gaels with 18 points. Bishop Gorman was also led by the strong inside play of senior captain Dannielle Diamont, who finished with 15 points.

"Those two are huge," Krmpotich said. "The great thing about those guys is that they're unselfish. We have other players on the floor that can hit shots so when they get everyone involved we're really not a two-dimensional team."

Bishop Gorman will meet Centennial in the Sunset Finals. The Bulldogs also cruised through the semifinals with a 94-37 win over Legacy.

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected].