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January 14, 2004
PV GIRLS AT 21-1 Alamo's 26-game winning streak ended by Trojans
By DON McDERMOTT
Some man asked her what the record for the Lady Trojans was. When he was told "20-1," the man said, "Well, after tonight, it's going to be 20-2." That man was a fan of the Pahranagat Valley Alamo girls' basketball team, that was riding a 26-game undefeated streak and hadn't lost at home in so many years, no one can remember the last time it happened. The Pahrump Valley girls rose to the occasion, however, overcoming intense noise and a hostile crowd to win 49-39 to boost their record to 21-1 and drop the state Class A defending champion Lady Panthers to 12-1. Pahrump Valley's girls had started the weekend with an 80-47 rout of Mesquite Virgin Valley in the Southern Nevada Class 3-A League opener for both teams. Alamo, which has won two straight 1-A state titles and five of the past eight, fell behind by as many as 16 points to the Trojans, who moved to within three wins of the school record for victories by beating the persistent, but outgunned Panthers. Veronica Villa had 26, including five 3-point bombs, for Pahrump Valley, which trailed 10-9 after one period, led 23-17 at halftime and went into the final eight minutes ahead 32-27. Villa, who had seven of Pahrump Valley's nine points in the third quarter, scored nine points in the first 6 1/2 minutes of the final period to boost the Trojans lead to 16 points. "Playing Alamo is what high school basketball should be all about," said Bob Hopkins, the Trojans coach. "For people who live there, it (basketball) is their entertainment. It is what they live for. "Alamo's fans are loud and are behind their team," said Hopkins. "And Alamo has a good team; I think next to Centennial, Alamo was the best team we've played this season." Las Vegas Centennial, a Nevada Class 4-A power for the last four seasons, is 18-2 and ended the Trojans' 19-game unbeaten streak 92-51 in the finals of its own invitational tournament in December. The Trojans fired in 18 of 35 field goal attempts, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range, to frustrate the Panthers. Alamo had outrebounded its 3-A rivals 25-20 and had only 21 turnovers to 24 for the Trojans. Darla Hopkins, a 5-foot-1 junior point guard, further added to the Panthers' problems by getting eight steals and recording five assists to go with two points. "I thought the game would be won on the inside by us, but instead, we did it from the outside," said Hopkins. Amanda Kunzi scored eight points and had five rebounds, as the Trojan perimeter shooters netted 36 of the 49 points. Breann Kukurin, a 5-9 senior forward, had 10 points with 6-foot senior center Jessica Beatty adding three points and six boards, along with four assists. "Alamo played aggressively and really physically against us," said Hopkins. "We essentially went with six players in the game; Darla was on the court the first 30 1/2 minutes before we got the big lead and I finally took her out. Veronica sat out the last 5 1/2 minutes of the first half with three fouls." Villa had accounted for nine of PV's first half points on three treys. • In the win against Virgin Valley, the Trojans were never in any trouble, leading the Bulldogs 21-15, 46-22 and 62-31 at the quarters. Veronica Villa scored 25 points and Jessica Beatty 17 for the defending league champion Trojans. Darla Hopkins and Breann Kukurin added eight points each. Martie Jensen was the only double-figure scorer for the Bulldogs, 4-12. She had 12 points. NOTES - The Trojans were in action Tuesday in Las Vegas against The Meadows, a Southern Class 2-A League team. ... Friday, PV is at home against Southern 3-A League rival Overton Moapa Valley ... Saturday, the PV girls travel to Las Vegas again to take on Faith Lutheran at 3 p.m. in a non-league game. |
