HOLIDAY CLASSIC: Centennial girls need late kick vs. California unit

Centennial’s girls basketball team found itself in unfamiliar territory Wednesday.

The Bulldogs, whose average margin of victory in their first nine wins was 45 points, held a precarious four-point lead in the third quarter on their home floor.

And they weren’t playing well.

The end result, though, turned out a bit more recognizable.

The Bulldogs used a strong finishing kick to erase a subpar first 2½ quarters on their way to a 62-44 win over Santa Fe (Calif.) in the Las Vegas Holiday Classic.

“You always want to win, every game, every tournament,” Centennial coach Karen Weitz said. “We’re not expected to do anything but win. We know that, but I don’t know if the kids know that.”

Centennial, which later blew out Douglas 73-22 to improve to 11-1, will meet Fairfax (Calif.) in a semifinal game today at 11:40 a.m. The championship game is set for 3:40 p.m.

But the trip to the semifinal was anything but a certainty when Centennial led only 33-29 midway through the third quarter.

The Chiefs had scored seven straight points and had a 2-on-1 break to potentially cut Centennial’s lead to two. Instead, the Bulldogs hurried back on defense, forced a missed shot and turned it into a transition jumper by Ashley Klemz.

It started a game-clinching 10-0 run that gave Centennial a 43-29 lead.

“Once I eventually found the people that didn’t come to play and got them out, we found the seven that wanted to go, and they played a little better,” Weitz said.

Centennial didn’t click early, squandering a 10-2 lead and missing countless shots from inside the paint.

With all-state wing Courtney Hayes missing her sixth straight game due to a knee injury and the Bulldogs getting surprisingly scant offensive production from Klemz and Jada Brown, Centennial used its depth to pull away.

Tamera Williams scored 10 of her 15 points in the second half, and Shannon Brown added nine of her 11 points in the final two quarters.

Breanna Workman scored 14 points for the Bulldogs.

“We don’t have any star players,” Weitz said. “Tamera can be just as good as Courtney, and Bre and Shannon Brown can be just as good as Jada. It just depends on the night.

“This is the most depth I’ve had probably since the teams that won four straight (state titles).”

Tatiana Scott paced the Chiefs with 22 points.

Centennial 73, Douglas 22 — The Bulldogs outscored Douglas 33-1 in the middle two quarters on their way to an easy win.

Klemz and Jada Brown each scored 16 points for Centennial, which got 10 points from Workman.

Fairfax (Calif.) 51, Coronado 34 — Fairfax began the second half on a 21-6 run and never looked back.

Nicole Ruffino and Sarah Dexter each scored 11 points for the Cougars.

Granite Hills (Calif.) 51, Coronado 41 — Granite Hills used a 16-0 fourth-quarter run to rally from a 35-30 deficit and stun the Cougars.

Ruffino led Coronado with 20 points.

Galena 49, Arbor View 13 — Emily Burns tallied 15 points, and the Grizzlies held the Aggies scoreless until midway through the second quarter.

Darie Martin’s five points led Arbor View, which trailed 29-2 at the half.

Spring Creek 40, Arbor View 25 — Spring Creek outscored the Aggies 14-3 in the final quarter to break open a close game.

Jena Valenzuela paced Arbor View with nine points.

Highland (Ariz.) 50, Valley 31 — Highland scored the first eight points of the game and never trailed en route to a win over the Vikings.

Shayna Porter led Valley with eight points.

Kaile Magazzeni tallied 20 points for Highland.

Carson 41, Valley 36 — The Senators scored the final nine points of overtime and downed the Vikings.

Whitney Nash led the Senators with 12 points.

Estelle Wilson scored 12 points for Valley, which forced overtime on Brianna Johnson’s jumper in the lane with three seconds left in regulation.

Carson 44, Mojave 36 — Nash scored six of her 12 points in the fourth quarter as the Senators used a game-ending 16-3 run to rally past the Rattlers.

Carson was 9 of 16 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.

Jazzmine Robinson scored 13 points, and Alexandria Thiel added 10 points for Mojave.

West Torrance (Calif.) 67, Mojave 47 — Nicole Nitake had 24 points, and the Warriors took control by outscoring the Rattlers 23-12 in the second quarter.

Robinson led Mojave with 13 points, and teammates Thiel and Teaira Shorter each scored 10.