Pali High Girls Hoops Plagued by Injuries

When all the pieces are in place Palisades High girls basketball coach Torino Johnson erxpects his team to be a City championship contender.

Until then, the Dolphins may take some lumps but all of the available players are gaining valuable game experience.

The Dolphins (1-7) went 0-4  in last week’s Battle at the Beach  in Redondo but were competitive in each contest despite being shorthanded, giving Johnson plenty of reasons for optimism.

“Even without a full squad we’re making teams work,” Johnson said. “We just need to get healthy. We’ve played nothing but good teams so far.”

In the first round against host Redondo Union the Dolphins led 22-19 at halftime but were outscored 17-6 in the third quarter. Palisades forced overtime but its lack of depth surfaced and the Dolphins were outscored 13-3 in the extra session. Bianca King scored 14 points and Caytlnn Gorden added 12, including three 3-pointers, in the 59-49 defeat.

The next game resulted in a 60-51 loss to Windward despite 13 points and six rebounds from King and 10 points and six blocks by Rita Herbstman. King, who made the All-Tournament team, had 11 points, nine rebounds and nine steals in a 45-25 loss to Harvard-Westlake and Gorden had 11 points in a 61-31 loss to Keppel.