HIGH SCHOOL

Pyramid Lake girls dominate on way to state basketball championship

The Lakers last state girls basketball title was in 1981; GV Christian wins 1A boys title over Mineral County

Jim Krajewski
Reno Gazette Journal
Eureka's Pyramid Lakers cheer as coach Raymond Charles lifts the 1A basketball state championship trophy at Lawlor Events Center on Saturday Feb. 25, 2023. Pyramid defeated Eureka 59-23.

They simply put their heads down and got to work and now the Pyramid Lake girls are the 1A state basketball champions.

The Lakers rolled to a resounding win over Eureka, 59-23, on Saturday at Lawlor Events Center.

Coach Ray Charles said most of the team plays basketball year-round and that leads to their success.

Pyramid coach Raymond Charles hold the championship trophy after the Lakers win the 1A basketball state championship at Lawlor Events Center on Saturday Feb. 25, 2023. Pyramid defeated Eureka 59-23.

He said in addition to having last season's state final loss in the back of their minds, the Lakers were playing for some community members who recently died.

"We've had a lot of heartache, even in this past week. We've had a lot of people torn, who had to decide about going to a service this morning and then come to the game," Charles said. "It's a very tremendous honor to work in that community and coach these ladies. They've worked hard. They don't talk a lot smack. They play good defense and they shoot well."

The last time Pyramid Lake won the girls basketball title was in 1981 and members of that team were on hand Saturday to watch the victory.

Pyramid's Shalaya Barraza shoots against the Eureka Vandals in the 1A basketball state championship game at Lawlor Events Center on Saturday Feb. 25, 2023. Pyramid defeated Eureka 59-23.

Charles said basketball provides a brief break from the heartache the community has gone through in recent years.

"Life goes on. It's nice to be able to take a little ease off the people for a couple hours," Charles said.

Pyramid Lake got out to a 14-1 lead after one quarter, 28-6 at halftime and 50-18 after three. When they took a 54-18 lead with 6 minutes, 20 seconds left the running clock was implemented due to the 35-plus point differential

Lorena Eben, a freshman, led the Lakers with 14 points, Shay Barraza, junior, had 12 and Raynan Mix-Tapija, sophomore, had 10. Megan Johnson led Eureka with eight points.

The Lakers have three seniors, Deja Davis, Alizah Lara and Cayla Crutcher.

Eureka's Megan Johnson reaches for a rebound against Pyramid Deja Davis during the 1A basketball state championship game at Lawlor Events Center on Saturday Feb. 25, 2023. Pyramid defeated Eureka 59-23.

Lara said last season's loss in the title game added to their incentive.

"That made us want to play even harder and get it more and we finally did it," she said. "We worked hard all year at practice. We all had a good mentality and we wanted to win it."

"We're really excited about the future too," Charles said. "It's not just one season."

Eureka only lost two games this season, both to Pyramid Lake.

Pyramid's Lorena Eben reaches for a rebound during the 1A basketball state championship game against Eureka at Lawlor Events Center on Saturday Feb. 25, 2023. Pyramid defeated Eureka 59-23.

1A Boys Championship

Joshua Valencia poured in 254points as GV Christian beat Mineral County, 72-60, on Saturday at Lawlor to defend its state title.

Thomas Pulcini added 178 and Brennan Killoran had 14 for the Guardians

The Serpents rallied after being down by 18 early in the second half and got within four, 64-60, after a long 3-pointer by Andre White with 1:31 left, but could not score again.

White and Devayne Isom each had 14 points for the Serpents.

GV Christian beat Mineral County in the state semifinals last season.

Eureka's Claire Shoda reaches for a rebound against Pyramid Sequoia Harjo during the 1A basketball state championship game at Lawlor Events Center on Saturday Feb. 25, 2023. Pyramid defeated Eureka 59-23.

State tournament results

  • 1A Girls: Championship: Pyramid Lake 59, Eureka 23
  • 2A Girls: Championship: Democracy Prep 57, Needles 40
  • 3A Girls: Championship: Lowry 58, Fernley 53
  • 4A Girls: Championship: Las Vegas 51, Desert Pines 49
  • 5A Girls: Championship: Centennial 59, Coronado 20
  • 1A Boys: Championship: GV Christian 72, Mineral County 60
  • 2A Boys: Championship: Democracy Prep 64, The Meadows 58
  • 3A Boys: Championship: Losee 59, Elko 52
  • 4A Boys: Championship: Mojave 73, Silverado 68
  • 5A Boys: Championship: Durango 57, Liberty 47
The Pyramid Lake girls basketball team is shown before the state championship game Saturday at Lawlor Events Center.

Jim Krajewski covers college, high school and youth sports for the Reno Gazette Journal. Follow him on Twitter @RGJPreps. Support his work by subscribing to RGJ.com.