Girls defeat Cheyenne in opening round

The Boulder City girls basketball team can earn a trip to the state tournament today with a victory against Clark High in the Southern Region semifinal being played at Sunrise Mountain.

Boulder City advanced to today’s game by defeating visiting Cheyenne 55-26 Tuesday in the opening round of the Southern Region playoffs. It was the final game the Lady Eagles will play at home this season. The remainder are on the road.

The Lady Eagles (21-4) play Clark (15-8) at 3 p.m. The region final is at 6 p.m. Saturday, also at Sunrise Mountain.

By defeating Clark and reaching the region final, the Lady Eagles assure themselves of a return trip to the state tournament.

Both the region champion and runner-up advance to the state’s Final Four to be played Feb. 28 and March 1 at Lawlor Events Center at the University of Nevada, Reno.

A year ago, the Lady Eagles were eliminated in the semifinal round at state. The goal for the team this season is to return to the tournament and win the final. But first, they must get past Clark.

Clark defeated Sunrise Mountain (15-11) Tuesday. Cheyenne ended its season 5-12.

“The playoffs really show the meaning in being 1-0 after each game,” senior forward Whitney Barlow said. “There’s no turning back now, we have to win every game from here on out. If we play Boulder City basketball, we will do great things. Clark is a great challenge.”

Against Cheyenne, junior guard Katlyn Daly scored 11 points, made six assists and had four steals to lead the Lady Eagles. Barlow and Alyssa Ybarra each also scored 11 points. Megan Morton and Jana Williams each added eight points.

“Katlyn played her heart out against Cheyenne,” head coach Paul Dosch said. “She was all over the court doing positive things for us. She is stepping her game up at the right time.”

On Feb. 13, Boulder City defeated Desert Pines 51-45 to win the Sunrise League regular season championship and clinch the No. 1 seed for the Southern Region playoffs.

“Winning the league championship was one team goal and it was great to achieve it,” Dosch said. “The girls have been working very hard since we started Nov. 16 and they have great chemistry and love playing together. Now, in the playoffs we need to refocus. As a coach, I am blessed to have such great student athletes.”

The Lady Eagles were Sunrise Region champion and Southern Region runner-up last season, losing to Sunset Region champion Faith Lutheran. Faith Lutheran went on to win the state title.

“We want to get back to the region final and then the state final,” Daly said. “It has been an amazing season and we want to do so much more in the playoffs.”

In the game against Desert Pines, Barlow had 16 points and 14 rebounds. The Lady Eagles erased a 12-point halftime deficit, trailing 32-20, behind the play and scoring of Morton (12 points), Ybarra (11 points) and Williams (six points).

“Winning the regular season was a thrill for everyone on the team and we really enjoyed it, but right now we are in the playoffs and we need to concentrate on that,” Barlow said.