Pahrump Valley takes on field at Gator Classic tournament

The Pahrump Valley girls basketball team is in the Las Vegas valley this week for the 2022 Gator Winter Classic.

Thirty-two teams from six states around the country have traveled to Green Valley High School to participate in the 4-day tournament.

The teams are split into eight groups of four teams for the first two days of the tournament. There will be a knockout, bracket-style tournament following the group stage.

Pahrump Valley was placed into the “F” group of the tournament with Yerington High School from northern Nevada, Dixie High School from St. George, Utah, and Lathrop High School from Fairbanks, Alaska.

The Lady Trojans began their tournament Tuesday afternoon with a matchup against the Lathrop Malamutes.

The Malamutes play in the Mid-Alaska league of the 4A division, the highest division in Alaska.

According to MaxPreps.com, the Malamutes have not played a game this season. Last year, they finished with a 9-12 overall record and a 4-0 league record.

They entered the state playoffs with the No. 8 seed, but they were knocked out by the top-seeded, and eventual state champion, Anchorage Christian Lions.

On Wednesday, Pahrump Valley will take on the Lions of Yerington. The game is set to tip off at 11 a.m.

Yerington came into the tournament with a 1-3 record. They opened their tournament on Tuesday afternoon with a matchup against the Dixie Flyers.

The Lions play in the 2A division in northern Nevada. Last season they finished with a 7-15 record and lost in the first round of the regional tournament to North Tahoe.

The outcome of Pahrump’s games against Yerington and Lathrop will dictate how the rest of their tournament goes.

Even though all four teams from each group advance to the knockout stage of the tournament, their matchups will depend on how well the teams play in the group stage.

The Trojans will take on one of the teams from the “H” group in the quarterfinal round of the knockout stage.

The “H” group consists of Basic and Coral Academy high schools from Nevada and Segerstrom and Sunny Hills high schools from California.

If Pahrump Valley finishes in the No.1 or No. 3 spot of their group, they’ll play at 9:30 a.m. Thursday morning. If they finish in the No. 2 or No. 4 spot, they’ll play their first game of the knockout stage at 12:30 p.m.

If the Lady Trojans are able to get past the first round, they’ll play in the bracket’s semifinal game Thursday night. With a win, they’d advance to the bracket’s championship game on Friday afternoon.

You can follow along with the tournament on quickscores.com or check the scores of the Pahrump Valley games on MaxPreps.com.

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