Harvard-Westlake Is Looking to State Case

Throughout the summer and into the school year, the Harvard-Westlake High girls’ basketball team drew inspiration from above: the 1995-96 and ‘96-97 state championship banners won by the school’s boys’ team.

“They had two banners and there was nothing up there representing the girls,” junior forward Omelogo Udeze said.

With that kind of tradition hanging over them, and a lot of momentum behind them, the Wolverines are putting together a banner year of their own.

They routed University High of San Diego, 83-53, Tuesday night in the opening round of the Southern Regional Division III playoffs at Harvard-Westlake.

Harvard-Westlake (27-5) will hoist its first girls’ basketball flag if it can get three more victories.

The Wolverines will host Inglewood Morningside on Thursday in the regional semifinal.

Morningside (27-6) lost to Harvard-Westlake, 45-41, last Friday in the Southern Section III-A final.

The regional final will be played Saturday at the Pyramid in Long Beach and the state championship will be contested either March 20 or 21 at the Arco Arena in Sacramento.

Before the season, Coach Brian Taylor challenged the Wolverines, who had won only one postseason game in their history, to set lofty goals.

“We’ve already accomplished two of the three,” sophomore L’Tanya Robnett said of the Wolverines’ Mission League co-championship and Southern Section Division III-A title. “Now we want the third.”

Taylor isn’t ready to address a possible state title just yet, not with two games separating Harvard-Westlake and a trip to Sacramento.

“That’s just one [playoff game] out of the way,” he said. “Now we can think about the next one. We don’t want to overlook anything.”

The Wolverines, who won their eighth consecutive game since losing to Mission League co-champion Alemany, 73-53, on Feb. 6, came out focused on their first-round opponent.

The Wolverines, who shot only 36% their victory over Morningside last Friday, jumped to a 16-2 lead and made 18 of 35 shots in the first half to maintain the margin, 40-26.

Harvard-Westlake shot 45% (34 for 75) in the game.

Udeze and senior guard Corrie Roberts, who struggled offensively in their past two games, combined for 37 against the overmatched Dons (13-12).

DIVISION I

Marina 72, Bakersfield Stockdale 58--Chanda McLeod had a game-high 27 points and 12 rebounds for Marina (28-4).

DIVISION II

Brea Olinda 63, Glendora St. Lucy’s 26--Chelsea Trotter of Brea Olinda scored 22 points on nine-of-11 shooting.

Chula Vista East Lake 67, Troy 57--Brooke McIntyre had 24 points for East Lake, which overcame 25 points by Troy’s Veronica Johns.