LV HOLIDAY CLASSIC: Centennial split squad routs California team

Karen Weitz has had some outstanding teams in her 17 seasons as Centennial's girls basketball coach.

But the group Weitz has assembled this year may end up being her best.

Playing with only seven players after splitting the varsity into two squads, the host Bulldogs raced to a huge halftime lead and put on a dribbling and passing exhibition in the second half of a 59-10 win over Bonita (Calif.) on Monday in the Las Vegas Holiday Classic.

"We were just sitting on the bench talking about that, wondering if this could be one of our best teams," said Weitz, who has guided the Bulldogs to seven state titles, including last year's crown. "It definitely is. Could it be the best? Rankings-wise, it's looking that way right now, but it's just a lot of good ball players. We've got scorers. We've got defenders."

Centennial, ranked No. 2 nationally by USA Today, divided its team in half to replace Channel Islands (Calif.), which withdrew from the tournament.

But the Bulldogs (11-1) still ran the floor remarkably well in their second game of the day. After beating Valley earlier in the day, Centennial got all five of its starters to score before Bonita (7-5) got on the board. The Bulldogs led 33-4 after one quarter and 56-8 at the half.

"The top seven are playing really well together, and they're playing unselfish basketball, which is really important when you have a lot of talented kids," said Weitz.

Due to a Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association policy that requires teams that win by 50 or more points to write letters to the association detailing what they did to not embarrass their opponents, the Bulldogs didn't attempt a shot in the second half until Bonita's Denae Hollar scored with 45.5 seconds left in the game.

Instead, Centennial dribbled and passed and made the Bearcats chase them around the floor.

Bonita racked up enough fouls to put Centennial in the bonus early in the fourth quarter, and Bailey Thomas hit the front end of a 1-and-1 to give the Bulldogs a 57-8 lead and chucked the second shot off the backboard.

The Bearcats fouled twice more, and each time Centennial's players deliberately missed, heaving the ball off the backboard away from the rim.

"It's frustrating, but it's more embarrassing than it is frustrating," said Weitz, who is believed to have been threatened with losing her job if her team won by 50 in past years. "You have to sit there and just throw the ball up. We're doing what we're told to do."

After Hollar's basket, Centennial needed just 14 seconds to score on Melanie Isbell's cut inside.

Justice Ethridge had 18 points, and Samantha Thomas scored 15 for the Bulldogs.

Centennial 65, Valley 16 — Ethridge had 16 points as the Bulldogs routed the Vikings.

Thomas added 15 points, and Jayden Eggleston scored 14 for Centennial, which led 61-14 at the half.

Eimanei Thomas-Palmer had four points for Valley.

Bonita (Calif.) 42, Valley 39 — Alyssa Ono had 11 points to help the Bearcats rally by the Vikings.

Sami Riggs added 10 points for Bonita, which trailed 28-25 entering the fourth quarter but hit 12 of 22 free throws in the final eight minutes.

Sandra Scroggins led Valley with 11 points.

Palo Verde 59, Las Vegas 33 — Paulina Silcox scored all of her 27 points in the first three quarters as the Panthers routed the Wildcats.

Brooklyn Cruz added 18 points for Palo Verde, which led 39-9 at the half.

Adrina Collins led Las Vegas with 10 points.

Lakeside (Calif.) 64, Palo Verde 51 — Tavian Lasley scored all of her 20 points in the first three quarters as the Lancers topped the Panthers.

Marissa Williams added 12 points for Lakeside.

Silcox had 18 points, and Cruz scored 17 for Palo Verde.

Reno 60, Las Vegas 22 — Mallory McGwire had 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots as the Huskies routed the Wildcats.

Daranda Hinkey and Dominique Harding each added 10 points for Reno, which led 45-12 at the half.

Armonnie Byrd paced Las Vegas with eight points.

Highland (Ariz.) 44, Desert Oasis 26 — Anna Grone had 19 points to lead the Hawks by the Diamondbacks.

Alexa Hancock had all 10 of her points in the second half for Highland, which led 17-7 at the half.

Sierra Mich'l led Desert Oasis with eight points.

Centennial JV 69, Desert Oasis 51 — Sarah Kruthaupt hit six 3-pointers and had 20 points to lead Centennial's second squad to a win over the Diamondbacks.

Eboni Walker had 16 points, and Lauren Welch scored 13 for Centennial. Alex Dockery added 10 points for the Bulldogs, who led only 24-22 at the half.

Mikala Kirby paced Desert Oasis with 16 points. Ashlynn Sharp added 13 points for the Diamondbacks.

Highland (Ariz.) 44, Centennial JV 41 — Kelsey Miranda had 12 points as the Hawks rallied by the Bulldogs' second unit.

Kaylie Taylor added 10 points for Highland, which trailed 16-12 at the half.

Walker had 13 points, and Kruthaupt scored 10 for Centennial.

East Anchorage (Alaska) 61, Desert Pines 29 — Sandim Kidder scored 13 of her 17 points in the first half to hep the Thunderbirds rout the Jaguars.

Tennae Voliva added 10 points for East Anchorage, which scored the first 11 points of the game and held a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

Jordan Bailey paced Desert Pines with 16 points.

West Torrance (Calif.) 49, Desert Pines 20 — Haley Jones had 14 points as the Warriors topped the Jaguars.

Chrystian Myles led Desert Pines with seven points.