CENTENNIAL TOURNEY: Jensen’s fast start seals Silverado’s fate

When Galena High’s Hayley Jensen nailed a 3-pointer 10 seconds into Monday’s tournament game, the Silverado coaching staff should have known trouble was on the way.

Jensen went on to score 16 of her 25 points in the first half and the Grizzlies held on for a 69-57 victory over the Skyhawks in the Las Vegas Holiday Classic at Centennial.

The loss was the second of the day for Silverado, which fell to Highland (Ariz.) earler Monday.

“They outrebounded us and we made a lot of turnovers,” said Skyhawks coach Kelli Bray-Mathews. “They were a really tough team.”

Though Silverado trailed 41-27 at halftime, the Skyhawks began battling back early in the third quarter.

Shea Collins, who finished with 21 points and seven steals, hit a 3-pointer to ignite a 9-0 Silverado scoring run early in the second half.

That cut the deficit to 44-36, and the Skyhawks whittled it down to 51-46 by the end of the third quarter.

“We really got some momentum there in the third quarter,” Bray-Mathews said. “But once again, turnovers came into play.”

Galena’s Emily Burns, who finished with a game-high 27 points, teamed with Jensen to dominate in the paint down the stretch, and the Grizzlies pulled away for good in the final six minutes.

Natalie Lainhart scored 15 points to help Silverado, and teammate Alena Evans added nine points.

Centennial 85, Elko 16 — Deanna Daniels scored 25 points and the Bulldogs had four players finish in double figures on the way to an easy win.

The victory lifted Centennial into today’s 9:50 a.m. semifinal, where the Bulldogs will face Arizona’s Dobson High.

Green Valley 53, Mt. Zion (N.C.) 21 — Sarah Pickus scored 19 points and Jazmine Jarvis had 16 to help the Gators roll to a win.

Green Valley will face Arizona’s Highland at 11:10 a.m. today in the tourney’s other semifinal.

Spanish Springs 45, Valley 35 — Kelly Hernandez scored a game-high 19 points to lift the Cougars past the Vikings.

Vanessa Corona scored 10 points to lead Valley.

Highland (Ariz.) 66, Valley 11 — Morgan Wohltman scored 14 points to lead Highland to an easy victory.

Corona scored eight points to lead Valley.

Centennial 72, Univerity (Calif.) 27 — Alexis Byrd scored 18 points to help the Bulldogs cruise to a victory in their early game.

Daniels added 17 points and Johnna Brown 16 for Centennial.

Green Valley 61, Carson 46 — Jarvis had 18 points to help the Gators win their early game.

Danielle Christenson had 14 points to help Green Valley, which opened the game with a 19-5 run.

Dobson (Ariz.) 55, Coronado 23 — Kameron Knutson had 19 points to lead Dobson past the Cougars.

Lindsay Decker scored six points to lead Coronado, which trailed 22-3 at the end of the first quarter.

Palo Verde 37, Mt. Zion (N.C.) 31 — Hayley Henderson had 15 points to pace the Panthers.

Shameka Smith added 12 points to help Palo Verde.

Highland (Ariz.) 70, Silverado 31 — Malia Maggazzeni scored 14 points and Highland used a balanced scoring attack to defeat the Skyhawks.

Collins scored 14 points to lead Silverado, which struggled after being outscored 21-7 in the second quarter.

Dimond (Alaska) 52, Pahrump Valley 28 — Keiahnna Engel was the game’s only double-digit scorer, but her 12-point effort was enough to help Dimond beat the Trojans.

Vanessa Veloz led Pahrump with seven points.

Palo Verde 55, South Anchorage (Alaska) 24 — Henderson scored 21 points, and the Panthers opened the game with a 22-4 run to beat South Anchorage.

Smith added 12 points for Palo Verde.

Douglas 50, Pahrump Valley 34 — Jess Waggoner scored 25 points and the Tigers used a fast start to beat the Trojans.

Alyson Kunzi led Pahrump with 10 points.

Durango 69, Wellington (Canada) 30 — Mia Bell scored 40 points, and the Trailblazers took over with a 16-4 second-quarter run on the way to an easy victory.

Cherelle Hicks added eight points for Durango.

Coronado 46, Dimond (Alaska) 35 — Jessica Smith scored 10 points to help lift Coronado to a win.

Stacy Rapp and Courtney Whitaker each added eight points for the Cougars.

Dobson (Ariz.) 55, Mojave 37 — Knutson, Andrea Jones and Bailee Roth each scored 11 points to help Dobson defeat the Rattlers.

Jazzmine Robinson also scored 11 to lead Mojave.

Durango 74, Elko 49 — Bell led all scorers with 27 points to lift the Trailblazers to a win.

Jasmine Thomas had 12 points for Durango, which broke the game open with a big second quarter.

Douglas 55, Mojave 43 — Waggoner logged 21 points as the Tigers beat the Rattlers.

Robinson scored 11 points to lead Mojave.