The Centennial High girls basketball team won their seventh straight state title on Feb. 26, 2022.
Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022 | 7:49 p.m.
The Centennial High girls basketball team left little doubt the past two days as to their claim as the state’s best team.
The Bulldogs won their seventh straight state championship on Saturday, leading by more than 30 points for nearly three quarters against Bishop Manogue of Reno in a commanding 93-34 win.
The dominance wasn’t limited to the championship game.
In the semifinals on Friday, Centennial beat Douglas 65-9. Yes, it only gave up nine points in a state tournament game.
It’s the 13th all-time championship for the Centennial program, which ranks second all-time in Nevada history behind one of the state’s original schools, Pahranagat Valley of Alamo. Pahranagat Valley, which has been around since the 1920s in Lincoln County, has won 16 championships.
Coach Karen Weitz has long maintained that she won’t talk about her legacy or her program’s place in history while she’s still coaching. And, while she’ll retire from teaching in May, she has no plans of slowing down running the program. Weitz and the Bulldogs have another title to win next year.
“We don’t play to the score; we play for us,” Weitz said. “When we don’t do things right, my team is just as frustrated as I am. That is what I love about them — they want to do things and do things correct.”
The win over Bishop Manogue was vintage Centennial basketball, as the Bulldogs’ pressure defensive forced turnover after turnover leading to transition baskets. A 10-point lead quickly turned into a 45-7 advantage midway through the second quarter.
Centennial saw 12 of its 13 players register a point, including three in double figures — sophomore Montaya Dew had a game-best 15 points, Mary McMorris had 12 and Kaniya Boyd scored 11.
“Coach Weitz pushes all of us to be our best,” Boyd said. “She is going to make sure you play hard, play some defense and make buckets.”
When asked to pinpoint why her team was so dominant, Boyd was quick to respond with the typical answers of how hard they practice and the team’s desire.
Then, she said what everyone was thinking: She wanted to be a champion.
The season was canceled in 2020-21 because of the pandemic, meaning players like the sophomore Boyd became champions for the first time.
At the end of the game, players rushed the court to celebrate. Weitz remained near the bench packing up her gear, and with a smile starting to form on her face.
No championship team in Centennial history overcome what this team had to and Weitz couldn’t help being proud.
“We have been a lock down for two years,” she said. “It’s been a long haul with this group.”
