MVHS Girls Basketball Wins Regional Championship

By GANNON HANEVOLD

Moapa Valley Progress

The Moapa Valley girls basketball team had met the Boulder City Eagles three times this year before Monday night’s Regional Championship. Despite their 1-2 record against the top seeded Eagles, the Pirates won when a trophy was on the line in the preseason. With even more on the line, the second seeded squad from Moapa Valley hoped to take another trophy from the hands of Boulder City.

After their victory Saturday night, the Pirates didn’t have a chance to have a formal practice prior to the Regional Championship game. Instead, the team did their homework by studying the Eagles’ offensive sets on film and going through a thirty minute walkthrough the day of the game. The short preparation proved to be worthwhile.

On the opening possession of the game, the Eagles fed six foot center Ellie Howard, who gave the Pirates fits in the last two matchups. Howard’s shot was blocked by Pirate senior Ashlyn Western. Western and sophomore Kyla Bradshaw had Howard’s number for the next thirty two minutes. In the first 120 seconds, Western was everywhere. The senior earned a steal, assist, block, rebound, and Moapa Valley’s first score of the game. In a blink, the Pirates led 11-2 as Peyton Schraft knocked down a triple to put a cap on the impressive first quarter run.

The Eagles’ guards chipped away at the deficit while the Moapa Valley offense went cold, and two minutes into the second quarter, took a 12-11 lead. Lainey Cornwall was the catalyst for getting the Pirates back on track, sinking a shot from deep to make it 14-12. Just a few plays later, Kaitlyn Anderson and Peyton Schraft elegantly executed the offensive transition, and Schraft found her second three of the game from the corner. The game remained close, tied 19-18 at halftime.

The third quarter was a pendulum just like the first two, both sides trading pivotal baskets, but ultimately the Pirates hung onto the lead. Leading 26-25 with just twenty seconds on the clock, Lainey Cornwall sunk a three to give her team a four point lead. Just seconds later, junior Kaitlyn Anderson picked up a defensive rebound and took the ball coast to coast, laying in an easy transition basket as the third quarter buzzer sounded. The decibel level hit its first peak before the final period.

Anderson carried her momentum into the final eight minutes, scoring relentlessly off the dribble en route to a 22-point performance. It was the week of the unsung heroes however, as Andalin Hillstead scored her ninth three pointer of the season to extend the lead to 36-29. Anderson made free throws to make the deficit a game-high nine points.

The Eagles went on a short 5-0 run with just three minutes on the clock to get back in contention, but their momentum was quickly halted by yet another acrobatic Kaitlyn Anderson layup. The Pirates were efficient at the line, making six of seven foul shots in the final fifty seconds to ice the game. Moapa Valley defeated Boulder City 50-44. For the second time in three seasons, the Moapa Valley Pirates were presented the Southern Regional Championship trophy.

Head Coach Brandon Jones hit the Southern region pinnacle in just his first season with the girls basketball program, and spoke on his pride in the girls’ performance.

“I am so proud of the girls. The girls completely bought in to the game plan and went out and executed it,” he said. He especially expressed admiration for Ashlyn Western, Kyla Bradshaw, Emilie Barraza, and Andalin Hillstead.

“Despite being undersized, we battled their big girls all night. We wanted to make things difficult on them. We wanted to be physical and try to make them do things they weren’t comfortable doing,” he explained, “I’m very proud of the entire team for their defensive effort.”

Because of this victory, the Pirates claim the top seed in the Southern region. They’ll take on the North’s second seed, the Lowry Buckaroos, on Friday, March 1, at 2:30 p.m. in the Orleans Arena. Now sitting on the throne of Southern 3A girls basketball, the Moapa Valley Pirates have their sights set on taking a seat atop the Silver State.