Collins, Silverado down Green Valley

Silverado's Shea Collins took the court Friday night suspecting her team was about to win a big basketball game.

It took about a minute for the sophomore point guard to become certain her hunch was correct.

Collins hit her first shot in the game's second minute and went on to score a game-high 27 points in leading the Skyhawks to a 61-49 victory over top-seeded Green Valley in the Sunrise Region girls championship game at Green Valley.

The win lifted Silverado (26-9) into next week's Class 4A state tournament in Reno.

"Last night I couldn't make a shot," said Collins, who was held to nine points in Silverado's semifinal win over Tech on Thursday. "After I made that first shot tonight, I knew it was going to be a better night."

Collins, who scored 10 points in the first quarter Friday, helped the Skyhawks take control from the start.

"Shea has developed into such a good player," said Silverado coach Diane Hernandez, whose squad went 0-2 against the Gators in the regular season. "She really controlled the tempo on the floor and controlled the clock well tonight."

Green Valley (28-4) tried to answer with aggressive offense by Victoria Naylor, but Silverado forced the senior guard to take numerous off-balance and outside shots. She scored nine of her team-high 17 points in the first half, but the Gators trailed 34-27 at halftime.

Hernandez, whose squad limited Green Valley to 24 points in the paint, said the goal was to shut down the Gators' inside game.

"We stuck with our game plan," she said. "The girls knew what they had to do, and they trusted what (the coaches) told them."

Green Valley coach Lorenzo Jarvis said he had no regrets about his team's game plan.

"It's hard to beat a team three times in one season," he said. "But we had a heck of a year. I don't want to second-guess anything. Silverado just had a great night."

Mikayla Thielges had 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Skyhawks, who never trailed. Teammate Jessica Schmidt added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Danielle Christenson hit four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points for the Gators, who shot 25 percent.