Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Play like a girl: A look at how women’s sports, athletes thrive in Las Vegas

CSN softball team players

L.E. Baskow

The CSN softball team players wait their turns to bat during practice at the Russell Road Sports Complex on Wednesday, February 4, 2015.

Title IX, the law requiring that female athletes have the same opportunities as their male counterparts, has existed for more than 40 years and has helped females thrive in athletics.

But despite their many successes, women athletes aren’t celebrated as frequently or passionately as male players.

Locals are passionate, for instance, about the UNLV men’s basketball team, arriving by the thousands to the Thomas & Mack Center to cheer them to victory or complain when they lose. By comparison, the Lady Rebels play in front of a few hundred fans, and the results of their games garner little reaction in the community.

But female athletes in the valley are working hard, breaking records, courting fans and winning games. Here, we celebrate a few of them.

QB JAYMEE LUKE

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Cimarron-Memorial High flag football quarterback Jaymee Luke, center, plays on defense during a game against Western at Cimarron-Memorial Tuesday Jan. 19, 2015.

News of the Cimarron-Memorial High School football player spread quickly. No matter how hard they tried or game-planned, opponents couldn’t prevent the quarterback from dominating.

The player’s name is Jaymee Luke, and she stands just 5-foot, 1-inch tall.

In one game, six of the seven defenders trying to stop Luke wound up on the ground. In 16 games last season, she passed for 2,900 yards and rushed for 2,800 yards to lead the Spartans to the state championship.

“She is super competitive and so into winning,” Cimarron coach Mark Bailey said. “She is visually upset when we lose. That drive sets her apart. When you combine that drive with her ability, it makes for an awesome player.”

Luke is the face of girls flag football in the Clark County School District. The sport debuted three winters ago to help the district become Title IX compliant and instantly was a hit.

Initially, it was only a varsity level sport. Now, schools have freshman and junior varsity teams, from which girls rarely are cut.

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Cimarron-Memorial High flag football quarterback Jaymee Luke warms up before a game against Western at Cimarron-Memorial Tuesday Jan. 19, 2015.

One Cimarron coach joked Luke, a senior, is the best quarterback in Las Vegas, even better than males who play tackle football. She accurately throws the ball 40 yards and with a perfect spiral. When she runs, her cut-back moves are unstoppable, and she frequently breaks loose for long touchdown runs. Most are uncontested.

This season, she has completed 265 of 365 passes for 56 touchdowns and just five interceptions. She has rushed 170 times for 2,282 yards and 35 touchdowns. She also plays defensive back and has six interceptions.

“I don’t know about that,” Luke said of people’s assertion she’s better than the boys. “I didn’t think I would be the best player in town. I just wanted to be good enough to play at Cimarron.”

A four-year starter for the Cimarron soccer team, Luke, who has a soccer scholarship to Arkansas State, wanted to try something different as part of her high school experience. It’s a common motivation among girl flag football players.

Football was a natural fit. Luke is the middle of three daughters. Her father was determined to have someone to throw the football with, and family outings at the park always included games of touch football.

Now, Luke’s father sits proudly in the stands on game days.

“This is the most fun I’ve had in high school sports ever,” Luke said.

COLLEGE OF SOUTHERN NEVADA SOFTBALL TEAM

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CSN softball team head coach Callen Perreira hits to infielders during practice at the Russell Road Sports Complex on Wednesday, February 4, 2015.

It’s the day before the College of Southern Nevada softball team’s season opening tournament, and players are sitting in the clubhouse reviewing the opponents they are scheduled to face.

The meeting has a different feel this season. The clubhouse is a new — and long overdue.

There are locker stalls for each player, computers for studying, a players’ lounge and an office for coach Callen Perreira. It’s a proper home for a college team, a setup similar to that used by CSN baseball players at the college’s Henderson campus off College Drive and U.S. 95.

And this is just the beginning.

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The CSN softball team readies to take the field again during practice at the Russell Road Sports Complex on Wednesday, February 4, 2015.

Softball games and practices still are held at the Russell Road Recreation Complex about seven miles from campus, which is inconvenient to travel to and doesn’t provide a sense of playing at home. The same diamonds the Coyotes play on are used by recreational leagues.

But plans are being finalized for a multi-million dollar sports complex with two lighted softball and soccer fields to be built west of the baseball stadium on the Henderson campus. It could be ready for next season.

First-year athletic director Dexter Irvin is aggressively putting his stamp on the athletics department. The college also launched a women’s volleyball program to begin competing in the fall.

The softball program started in 2004, and until Perreira become coach in 2011, struggled with resources and winning games.

The upgrades are about more than providing equal opportunities for female athletes. The project aims to maximize the potential of the college, where about 85 percent of athletes come from Swouthern Nevada high schools. When Perreira coached at Hawaii-Hilo, he was instrumental is getting an on-campus stadium built.

“It is coming; you can final see it,” Perreira said of his vision for CSN. “We are proud of how we are building up the program and using Nevada kids to do it.”

Perreira retired to Las Vegas after a long coaching career at Hawaii-Hilo but was lured out of retirement to be a part-time assistant at CSN. Soon, he was promoted to head coach.

Almost immediately, the program started producing better results. The team had its first 40-win season in 2014 and were ranked as high as No. 3 nationally. CSN also started sending players to Division I programs.

Perreira “is very persistent and always hustling,” said Mia Acuna, a CSN sophomore and Centennial High graduate. “He makes sure all the little things add up to big things for us.”

LADY REBELS COACH KATHY OLIVIER

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Head coach Kathy Olivier poses in the Lady Rebels locker room at UNLV Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015. Each players' locker is sponsored by a donor for $2,000 one of the many ways the program is being creative to stay afloat.

Larry Bertsch was overwhelmed by the gesture.

Before last season began, UNLV women’s basketball coach Kathy Olivier and a few of her players arrived at Bertsch’s accounting offices with a special delivery: Bertsch’s season tickets.

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Lauren Charles, Lady Rebels administrative coordinator, displays a sponsor plaque in the Lady Rebels locker room at UNLV Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015. Each players' locker is sponsored by a donor for $2,000 one of the many ways the program is being creative to stay afloat.

The Lady Rebels are creative in their community outreach and how they cater to the program’s small but loyal fan base. Bertsch, a season ticket holder since the 1980s, was one of about 10 homes and businesses the team visited.

“We try to connect with our supporters,” said Olivier, UNLV’s seventh-year head coach. “That’s a big thing for us.”

A new fundraiser this season made the biggest connection yet.

For $2,000 each, boosters sponsored lockers in the team’s locker room at the Cox Pavillion. Each donor’s name was listed on a plate on the locker, and a party was held in the locker room. Video was posted on Facebook.

Former players and other supporters, including Bertsch, contributed more than $30,000 to the team. Money went into the program’s general fund to offset summer school expenses not covered by scholarships.

The Lady Rebels has a 94 percent graduation rate.

“We have a great group of ladies,” Bertsch said. “They are easy to support because they are so genuine and because they play so hard.”

The team averages about 1,000 fans per game, which includes more than just the action on the court. Win or lose, players mingle with fans and sign autographs. Most of the fans are high school or youth players who look up to the college women.

“In women’s basketball, you need a following,” Olivier said. “We have ours.”

The team now is working to expand the following by becoming even more involved in the community. Whether it’s speaking at schools, hosting camps or coaching youth teams, players are actively involved in promoting UNLV basketball.

The aim is to attract players to the program and build a team that perennially contends for spot in the NCAA Tournament. UNLV's last tournament appearance was in 2002.

"Our goal is to get the best players (in Las Vegas) to stay home," Olivier said.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21

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