Senior’s personal 14-0 flurry sends Gorman to state semis
A 14-0 run isn’t all that uncommon in basketball. A 14-0 run by one player, though, is awfully rare.
April Rivers was an awfully rare offensive weapon Monday.
The Bishop Gorman senior guard strung together her own 14-0 run late in the second quarter and into the third quarter to propel the Gaels past Canyon Springs 79-57 in the Division I girls state play-in game at Del Sol.
Gorman (20-9) will face Liberty (27-6) in a semifinal at 3 p.m. Thursday at Orleans Arena.
“She can shoot, and if she is on, God help anybody,” Gorman coach Sheryl Krmpotich said of Rivers. “She will find a way to get the ball. She can stop and pop, she’s got the drive, and she’s got the 3.”
Rivers finished with 24 points, but during a span of 2:43, the basketball court was her stage.
Her right-wing 3-pointer with 2:15 to go in the second quarter gave Gorman a 36-27 lead. When she hit a transition basket with 7:32 left in the third, the Gaels were up 47-27 and cruising to victory. In between came another 3, two transition jumpers and a stick-back basket.
Gorman outscored the usually fast-paced Pioneers 20-6 in transition.
“We can pick it up if we need to,” Krmpotich said. “We thought they would have trouble trying to defend us inside and out, and we just wanted to pick up the tempo and make them play defense.”
Raychel Stanley added 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Sandria Bolden scored 14 for Gorman, which got 10 points from Megan Jacobs.
Cherise Beynon led the Pioneers (23-7) with 24 points. Mandy Chitwood added 12 points, and Daijhan Cooks scored 10 for Canyon Springs, which was aiming for its first state tournament bid.