‘She’s an incredible player’: Nation Williams tallies 41 points in Centennial win

Guarding five players is tough. Guarding a Nation? Impossible.

Just ask Mojave’s girls basketball team.

Facing host Centennial on Thursday night, the Rattlers had no answer for the Bulldogs’ Nation Williams. The junior forward took over, scoring 41 points in Centennial’s 87-58 victory.

Williams — Nevada’s reigning girls basketball Gatorade Player of the Year — was a force on both ends of the court, cleaning the glass with 18 rebounds (11 on defense). She also finished with a team-best three steals.

“She’s an incredible player,” Bulldogs coach Karen Weitz said. “When you have a kid like Nation, you can base a lot of your offense around her because she does draw a lot of people. Then it’s just a matter of other kids making the right play, or Nation making the right read.”

Everything was working for Centennial (14-5, 4-1 Class 5A) on Thursday. The Bulldogs played physical defense from the opening tip and capitalized on Mojave miscues. Senior guard Sanai Branch finished with 12 points, while freshman Jordyn McFarland and junior Damoni Pool each contributed 10.

“I was happy that we were able to pull through and continue to play together throughout the game,” Williams said. “I feel like we’re facing a lot of adversity right now, but it’s good for us. … We’re just continuing to grow together and focus on (one) game at a time.”

Centennial set the tone early against Mojave (15-5, 1-0 4A), which entered Thursday’s game riding a seven-game win streak. However, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 21-8 lead in the first quarter and kept the Rattlers at arm’s length.

Mojave was buzzing late in the second quarter after a 3-pointer by freshman Jordyn Carroll cut Centennial’s lead to 32-24, but they couldn’t sustain that momentum. The Bulldogs kept the pace up, holding a 65-46 lead going into the fourth. Centennial opened the final quarter with 10 consecutive points, putting the game permanently out of reach.

Freshman A’yanna Johnson led the Rattlers with 17 points. Junior Isabella Crawford finished with 12 points for Mojave, and Carroll contributed 10.

The victory was a test for Centennial going into next week’s matchup with No. 2 Democracy Prep, a talented 5A squad.

“We knew Mojave was going to be tough, and we just need to keep playing tough opponents and improve,” Weitz said.