Pahrump Valley set to host regional championship

Head coach Bob Hopkins and the rest of the Pahrump Valley High School girls basketball team clinched their spot in the Nevada 3A state tournament next week following their 36-17 victory over the Virgin Valley Bulldogs on Wednesday night.

The Trojans, who finished 22-4 in the regular season, came into the regional tournament as the No. 1 seed in the 3A Southern class.

They went undefeated in league play for the third consecutive season, leading to all of their regional tournament games being played at home.

In their opening game of the regional tournament this week, Pahrump Valley hosted the Falcons of Coral Academy.

This was the second meeting between the two teams after the Lady Trojans took a 51-12 victory against the Falcons back in December.

The playoff meeting would go much the same way.

Pahrump held a 10-2 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Guards Avery Moore and Adryanna Avena led the Trojans from start to end of the game.

They each scored five points in the opening period. Avena finished the game with 17 points while grabbing two rebounds and dishing out two assists.

Moore had the most well-rounded performance of the night.

In addition to her five points in the game, she also tied a team-high with seven rebounds, had four assists and a team-high six steals.

The Trojans held an 18-8 lead at halftime and would extend their lead by the end of the game, winning by 20 points, 41-21.

Leading scorer Kailani Martinez was held to just six points in the game, but she also had seven rebounds, three assists and four steals.

Senior guard Gracie Tilley finished her night with seven points and two assists.

On Wednesday night, Pahrump Valley hosted the Bulldogs of Virgin Valley.

The Lady Trojans defeated the Bulldogs earlier in the season, 31-24, when they traveled to Mesquite.

Wednesday night went much easier for Pahrump. They would come away with a 36-17 victory.

With their win, the Trojans accomplished two things.

In addition to getting a spot in the regional championship game on Friday night, they also locked up a spot in the Nevada 3A state basketball tournament.

On Friday night, the Lady Trojans will host the Moapa Valley Pirates, a rematch of last year’s regional championship game.

Last season, Moapa gave Pahrump two of their three losses in the season, including that regional championship game.

This season, the Trojans got their revenge in the regular season with a 39-26 win in January. Now, they have their eyes set on playoff vengeance.

The winner of Friday’s game will head to the state tournament as the No. 1 south seed and will play their opening game against the No. 2 north seed.

Tipoff for Friday’s game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

If you can’t attend the game, you can check the final results on maxpreps.com or NIAA.com.

Contact sports writer/editor Danny Smyth at dsmyth@pvtimes.com. Follow @the_dannysmyth on Twitter.