Las Vegas girls sweep Canyon Springs to force second-place tie in Northeast

Most rivalries have a long history of heated competition, so the girls basketball matchup between Las Vegas and Canyon Springs probably won’t top most fans’ lists.

But the the Wildcats and Pioneers are quickly becoming bitter opponents.

Las Vegas’ 64-58 home win Tuesday night over Canyon Springs leaves both teams tied for second place in the Northeast League at 10-3, one game behind Desert Pines.

Though the Wildcats (15-11) and Pioneers (18-11) have identical league records, the tiebreaker would favor Las Vegas, which won both meetings against Canyon Springs.

“That should clinch a home-court playoff game for us, and it definitely feels good since we didn’t have one last year,” Las Vegas coach Jen Brown said. “They (Canyon Springs) gave us a run for our money and our girls were definitely tired after that one.”

Wildcat senior forward Milana Jones led the way with 17 points and seven rebounds.

“This win means a lot to me because since I’ve been on the varsity team since my sophomore year, we’ve yet to win on senior night,” Jones said. “I think Canyon Springs, with their turnaround this year, are now our biggest rivals and their play is always very aggressive.”

The teams played a physical game in the paint as Natresha Bernard’s second-half play helped Las Vegas neutralize the strong frontcourt play of Canyon Springs’ Pearl Paulo, Kenosha Wright and Diamond Broadus. Bernard continually fought off the trio in snagging a game-high 10 rebounds and asserted herself on the offensive end.

Bernard had only two points in the first half, but came firing out of the break with 13 points. She also held Paulo, who had 14 first-half points, to five points in the second half.

“Natresha is like a freight train going through the lane,” Brown said. “She came to me at halftime and asked 'Coach, what am I doing wrong?’ I told her that if our guards aren’t finding her down low, then she should get up to the high post and drive it at them. She’s so big and strong I knew that nobody was going to stop her.”

The Wildcats led by as much as nine points in the second half before the Pioneers mounted a third-quarter run to took their first lead since the first quarter at 40-39. But the edge was short lived, as Las Vegas’ Shomari Harris scored on a fast-break to put her team ahead for good with a 45-42 margin to start the fourth quarter.

The Pioneers rallied to pull within four at 62-58 with 24 seconds to play before Bernard came up with a key block on a shot attempt by Canyon Springs’ Faith Harper. Bernard then converted her fifth of eight fourth-quarter free throws with 10 seconds remaining to seal the victory for Las Vegas.

Harris added 12 points for the Wildcats.

Harper had 13 points and Wright scored 11 for Canyon Springs.