Nevada high school girls basketball preview: Centennial leads 5A

Centennial retook its place as the state’s top girls basketball program by winning the Class 5A state title in February.

It was the program’s 15th title after having its run of eight straight championships snapped in 2024. Centennial’s run to the title last season was one of its more challenging with a younger team. As well as the stiff competition in 5A.

“None of those kids had won state,” legendary Centennial coach Karen Weitz said. “I’ve told a lot of people that I wouldn’t have picked us to win last year and what they did last year was pretty special. To repeat that is going to be so, so tough.”

The new girls basketball season is underway, with many teams beginning their seasons Monday. Some of the top 5A and 4A teams took part in Bishop Gorman’s Thanksgiving Showcase over the holiday break.

Centennial, Democracy Prep and Bishop Gorman are head and shoulders above the rest of their 5A competition and it’s hard to pick a favorite among the three programs. Each team brings back a strong core from the previous season, which includes several highly touted college prospects.

“This is our most talented and deepest group we’ve had,” Democracy Prep coach Julius Barren said. “We’re excited for this season. We did a heavy, challenging summer. We tried to play as much of the top West Coast high schools as we can just to prepare us for when we get in town for Centennial and Gorman.”

Last year’s tight regular season could be repeated this year. Centennial beat Democracy Prep 59-56 and Gorman 41-39. Democracy Prep beat Gorman 46-45. In the 5A state semifinals, Democracy Prep beat Gorman 60-49 in overtime, then lost to Centennial 61-54 for the state title.

“Gorman has everybody back. Democracy Prep has everybody back,” said Weitz, whose Bulldogs are ranked No. 13 nationally by MaxPreps. “I guess you could say we have everybody back, even though I always say (graduated senior) Ayla Williams was a huge part that’s missing. We need to figure it out.

“We hope those will be good games, but we need to take care of ourselves and get tougher before we can worry about competing against them,” added Weitz, who has won 791 games and all 15 state titles coaching Centennial’s girls.

‘All-around’ guards

Gorman ended Centennial’s state championship run in 2024. The Gaels are young and have just a few returners from that title-winning team, which includes Texas commit Aaliah Spaight. The senior guard is the No. 18 overall class of 2026 prospect by 247Sports.

“She’s an all-around kid. She can perform in a multitude of ways,” Gorman coach Sheryl Krmpotich said. “She makes everybody better around her. This year, we have more confidence in ourselves, so we don’t have to rely on (Spaight) for everything.”

The Gaels will have plenty of shooters with juniors Addysen Carr, Kenzee Holton and Anna Barragan, while working in a group of sophomores and freshmen Krmpotich is optimistic about.

“We are super fast. We’re super athletic and we’re deep this year, which is great to have,” said Krmpotich, who has won 518 games and five state titles coaching Gorman.

Democracy Prep has its own talented backcourt with seniors Keonni Lewis, a UNLV commit, and Bray’ana Miles, a Coppin State commit. The duo started as freshmen when Democracy Prep won the Class 2A state title in 2023.

“Our best players are seniors now,” Barren said. “With them being a senior group, they’re doing a great job of mentoring the younger ones.”

Democracy Prep graduated six seniors from last year’s team, but the Blue Knights added a few freshmen and other transfers. Barren called his sophomore class “amazing,” led by Ella Smith, who he called a “Swiss-army knife” due to her multitude of talents, and Shadow Ridge transfer Avery Freeman.

Superstar forward

Centennial’s strength will be its forward play, led by Nation Williams. The junior is a four-star Class of 2027 recruit and 247Sports’ No. 11 recruit in the class. She has more than 25 Division I offers, including South Carolina, UCLA and LSU.

“She continued to grow her game as an all-around player,” Weitz said of Williams. “She can handle the ball. She can play a little inside-outside. If we’re struggling in the guard spot, she can help assist in bringing the ball up.”

Centennial also has Seton Hall commit Inieye Oruh to play alongside Williams in the front court. The Bulldogs return shooting guard Sanai Branch (Arkansas-Pine Bluff commit) and Damoni Poole from last year’s team. Weitz likes her young players — led by freshmen Jordyn McFarland and Belle Parrel — but said there is room for the guard play to get better before the playoffs.

“I like our height,” said Weitz, who is in her fourth season coaching both Centennial’s boys and girls basketball teams. “I like our length. … I love our kids, I love our team. It’s just, can we buy in and get tough? The good news is we don’t have to get there until February.”

Other contenders

There are just nine teams in 5A, which is a Southern-only classification. Liberty, Shadow Ridge, Faith Lutheran and Coronado will look to challenge the top three teams. Legacy, last year’s 4A state champion, moved to 5A.

In 4A, Mater East won the 3A state title last season and moved up a classification. The Knights were 23-7, had several wins against 4A teams and lost three times to Nevada teams. They return most of their team from last year.

There are 31 teams in the 4A Southern Region. Other contenders include Losee, who played in the state tournament last year, Del Sol and Sierra Vista in what could be a wide-open classification field.