By Joe Snyder
North Torrance High’s girls’ basketball team is faced with mostly youth and inexperience after dominating the Pioneer League and making the CIF-Southern Section Division I quarterfinals last season but the Lady Saxons showed that they are still competitive after winning three of five games in the always highly competitive Redondo Battle at the Beach Tournament last week.
North began on Nov. 21 with a 74-33 win over Downey. On Nov. 25, the Saxons rolled over Serra 49-19. A day later, North proceeded to down Bakersfield Frontier 64-49 but suffered back-to-back losses to CIF-Los Angeles City Section power Lake Balboa Birmingham 71-61 last Friday and Long Beach St. Anthony 55-49 in the third-place game of the gold division on Saturday.
The one-time powerful Lady Cavaliers fell into lean times over the past few seasons and being demoted to the Camino Real League, where they finished third and lost in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division IVAA playoffs last season.
Serra (1-4) lost its first game to Santa Monica St. Monica 53-32 in a non-league game on Nov. 18 at Serra. The Cavaliers started the tournament with the 30-point loss to usual South Bay power North on Nov. 24 and, a day later, was routed by Birmingham 66-39. Last Friday, Serra fell to Frontier 48-39 but avoided last place in the gold division by routing Riverside Liberty 61-39 on Saturday.
Against Serra, the Saxons’ balanced scoring was led by guards, sophomore Camryn Shimazala and Kemei Santiago with nine points apiece. North also has another key player back in junior guard Leila Fitzgerald.
“We’re small and we play a simple type of game,” North head coach Lauren Kimiyama said.
The Saxons return five players and have three freshmen on the team. North has just two seniors.
The Saxons, along with crosstown rival West Torrance, moved into the Bay League with usual power Redondo, Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, Palos Verdes, and Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula. Like North, the Lady Sea Hawks are faced with some rebuilding after losing four of five games in the platinum division. Redondo does return junior forward Abby Zimmerman. Palos Verdes won the CIF-Southern Section Division IVA crown last year and look to compete for a league title, along with North, West, Redondo, and Mira Costa.
Serra returns all-Camino Real Leaguer Kennedy Britt from last season. Other top players are Judah Foster, Kaushia Snelson and 5-foot-11 center Kali Carter.
“Our offense was a little off,” Serra head coach McKenzie Hadley said in the loss to the Saxons. “We’re still learning to play together. We’ll continue to improve. We will grow and get better.”
In the Cavaliers’ win over Liberty, Yve Young led Serra with 15 points. Snelson added 14 points and six rebounds. Jadah Foster chipped in 11 points.
Ellie Staller led Liberty with 15 points.
The Cavaliers start the CRL at Bishop Conaty-Loreto High in Los Angeles today at 5 p.m. Serra resumes league at home against La Puente Bishop Amat next Tuesday at 7 p.m.
North visited La Habra last Tuesday and will host Sage Hill Prep from Newport Beach next Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Gardena High’s girls’ basketball team, which won the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division IV title last season, started the season at 1-3 in losing three of four games in the Gahr Tournament last week in Cerritos. The Lady Panthers started with a 48-34 win over Hollywood Bernstein on Nov. 20 before losses of 36-21 to the host Gladiators on Nov. 22, 56-28 to El Segundo on Nov. 23 and 60-28 to Palos Verdes on Nov. 24.
Gardena visited West Torrance last Tuesday and is at Long Beach Jordan High on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and Lawndale next Monday at 4:30 p.m.
________________
Narbonne blows past SP for City title
With several players out due to ineligibilities and a few that could not play due to receiving two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on Narbonne High’s football team’s CIF-Los Angeles City Section Open Division 28-7 semifinal win over Lake Balboa Birmingham on Nov. 22 at Narbonne, what was left of the Gauchos still proved too much for Marine League rival San Pedro in a 75-31 blowout for the championship last Friday night at El Camino College.
Early in the second quarter, the Gauchos spotted the Pirates a 10-7 lead before erupting for six touchdowns in the period to already turn the game into a blowout with a 48-10 lead.
In that quarter, University of Oklahoma-bound junior quarterback Jaden O’ Neal went to the big play offense by throwing touchdown passes of 59, 76, 64 and 36 yards. Narbonne also added one TD each from its defense and special teams. Mark Ieanschor had a 45-yard pick six and Treyshaun Jackson added an 84-yard punt return.
O’Neal completed 14 of 21 passes for six touchdowns and rushed for one more of 35 yards in the fourth quarter.
Reserve freshman quarterback Kingston Stokley also threw one TD pass.
San Pedro scored first on a 31-yard field goal by Dylan Moreno. After Narbonne took a 7-3 first quarter lead, the Pirates took a 10-7 lead on an 18-yard scoring pass from quarterback Seth Solorio to wide receiver Elias Redlow.
The Gauchos move to the Southern California Regional Division IIAA championship bowl game where they visit CIF-Southern Section Division IV champion Pacifica High in Oxnard Friday at 7 p.m. Pacifica topped top seed Ventura St. Bonaventure for the crown.
______________
Mt. SAC overcomes slow start to finish EC
El Camino College’s football team was looking to pull off an upset win over host and top seed Mt. San Antonio College in the first round of the Southern California community college playoffs last Saturday in Walnut.
The Warriors, who were fourth seed, raced off to a 17-7 first quarter lead but the Mounties finally came in and wore them down by outscoring ECC 41-7 the rest of the way for a 48-24 victory.
Mt. SAC, which is 11-0, scored first on a 41-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Noah Fuailetolo to Jawan Graf but El Camino tied the game at seven on a 58-yard TD pass from quarterback Tyler Karen to wide receiver Joshua Long. A 60-yard scoring run from running back Elijah Holmes gave the Warriors a 14-7 lead and they led by 10 points on a 41-yard field goal from kicker Cooper Dileva.
The Mounties, though, went on to tie the game after the first period behind a 29-yard field goal by Jacob Bonilla and a 7-yard touchdown run from Devin Miles, then took a 24-17 lead with 10:02 left in the second quarter on a 4-yard TD run by Miles.
ECC bounced back to tie the game at 24 with 7:19 remaining before halftime on a 51-yard scoring pass from Karen to wide receiver Tristan Thomas and that was the last heard from the Warriors as Mt. SAC finished off El Camino by scoring the game’s final 24 points, including taking the lead for good on a 41-yard interception return from Juan Salas with 4:35 to go before intermission.
The Mounties added two touchdowns and a 19-yard field goal by Bonilla and their defense shut out the Warriors in the second half.
Karen completed 10 of 19 passes for 168 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.
Jaden Moore rushed for 107 yards on 18 carries and Holmes added 84 yards and one TD on six carries.
ECC ended its season at 7-4 after winning the National Northern Conference title at 6-1.
_______________
GHS finishes 4th in San Gab. Tournament
Gardena High’s boys’ basketball team started the San Gabriel Thanksgiving Tournament by winning its first two games but fell in the last two for a fourth-place finish last week.
On Nov. 25, the Panthers began with a 55-36 win over San Bernardino and, two days later, defeated Flintridge Prep 58-48. Gardena, though, found the last two teams harder as it fell to AGBU 49-31 last Friday and the third-place game to Alhambra Mark Keppel 65-49.
Gardena is currently playing in the Bellflower Tournament where it opened against Cerritos Gahr last Tuesday, then played Beckman from Irvine on Wednesday. The classic lasts through Saturday.
North Torrance, which began its season with a 54-47 win over Harbor City Narbonne on Nov. 19, lost its first three games before avoiding last place with a 61-49 victory over Norco last Saturday. The Saxons lost their first three games to Riverside Arlington 66-63 on Nov. 25, La Puente Bishop Amat 53-46 on Nov. 26 and Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 56-44 last Friday.
The Saxons are also currently playing in the Bellflower Tournament.
Serra won three of five games at the Hawkins Tournament last week in the Los Angeles-Crenshaw District. The Cavaliers got off to a fast start with a 102-28 blowout of Hoarce Mann UCLA Community on Nov. 22 but fell back to earth a day later with a 60-46 loss to Pioneer High from Whittier. Later, on Nov. 23, Serra recorded another blowout victory by crushing host Hawkins 86-19, then, on Nov. 25, fell short of Riverside Liberty 63-60. The Cavaliers finished off the classic by rolling over Wilmington Banning 79-43.
The Cavaliers are currently playing in the Redondo-Ryse Williams-Pacific Shores Classic where it began in Division II against San Pedro Mary Star of the Sea last Tuesday. Serra will face Palos Verdes Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The Cavaliers’ next contest is on Dec. 14 in a non-league game against Lynwood beginning at 1 p.m.
