LAS VEGAS — Centennial junior forward Nation Williams put on a show Thursday night, scoring 41 points and grabbing 18 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs to an 87-58 win over Mojave.

Williams, the reigning Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year, also recorded three steals in the dominant performance. The Bulldogs (14-5, 4-1 Class 5A) used a stifling defense to jump out to a 21-8 lead after the first quarter and never looked back.

“She’s an incredible player,” Centennial coach Karen Weitz said. “When you have a kid like Nation, you can base a lot of your offense around her because she does draw a lot of people. Then it’s just a matter of other kids making the right play, or Nation making the right read.”

Mojave (15-5, 1-0 4A) entered the game on a seven-game win streak but struggled to contain Williams and the Bulldogs. A 3-pointer by freshman Jordyn Carroll cut the lead to 32-24 late in the second quarter, but Centennial responded by pushing the margin to 65-46 by the end of the third. The Bulldogs opened the fourth quarter with 10 straight points to seal the victory.

Senior guard Sanai Branch added 12 points for Centennial, while freshman Jordyn McFarland and junior Damoni Poole each scored 10. A’yanna Johnson led Mojave with 17 points, Isabella Crawford had 12, and Carroll contributed 10.

“I was happy that we were able to pull through and continue to play together throughout the game,” Williams said. “I feel like we’re facing a lot of adversity right now, but it’s good for us. … We’re just continuing to grow together and focus on (one) game at a time.”

The win sets up a key matchup next week against No. 2 Democracy Prep. “We knew Mojave was going to be tough, and we just need to keep playing tough opponents and improve,” Weitz said.