1A GIRLS: Schofield, Pahrangat Valley down Lake Mead

Pahranagat Valley girls basketball coach Amy Huntsman had a feeling Nikki Schofield would match up well with Lake Mead on Saturday.

The senior post player proved her coach correct in leading the Panthers to the Class 1A Southern League tournament title.

Schofield scored a team-high 14 points and gave Pahranagat Valley the lead for good with a basket in the lane with 1:29 left as the Panthers defeated Lake Mead 43-41 in the tournament final at Desert Oasis.

“Her best games of the season have been against Lake Mead,” Huntsman said. “She matches up well and has confidence (against) them. She just seems to be able to match up with their posts and get it done.”

Schofield scored while being fouled on the go-ahead bucket, which gave the Panthers (20-9) a 40-39 lead.

Pahranagat Valley’s Alyssa Higbee then made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 40 seconds, and the Panthers withstood a potential game-tying shot from Jordan Clarke in the paint to hold on for the victory. The Eagles (23-5) ran out of time before getting off a second shot.

“We got the look we wanted. It just didn’t go in,” Lake Mead coach Derek Anderson said.

Both teams advanced to the state tournament, which begins Friday in Reno. Pahranagat Valley clinched the South’s top seed.

Dakota Day had 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists for Pahranagat Valley, which returned three starters from last year’s state title team.

“Mostly, I think it helps us handle the pressure,” Schofield said of the Panthers’ veteran lineup. “With more experience, you know your team.”

After trailing 35-27 midway through the third quarter, Lake Mead went on a 12-3 run to take a 39-38 lead on Taylor Badua-Kono’s jumper with 2:01 left in the fourth.

After Jocelyn Cox’s stick-back basket pulled the Eagles within a point with 25 seconds left, Higbee hit the first of two free throws with 11.9 seconds left to help the Panthers hang on.

Badua-Kono scored 21 points on 10-for-20 shooting for Lake Mead, which will play in its first state tournament next week.

Anderson was proud of how his team improved from a 59-37 loss at Pahranagat Valley on Jan. 26.

“Going up there early in the year, we felt we played poorly,” he said. “To come out and prove we can play with the champions at this point, that says a lot about our girls.”