Girl Power

Pali Rec Center Girls Minor Basketball Team Wins Citywide Championship

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor 

When asked what the secret of her team’s success was after the Citywide Minor Division All-Star girls basketball final last Saturday, 9-year-old Sophie Lipp said: “We’re like metal magnets—we stick together!”       

It was a perfect description for a group of players who gelled so perfectly on the court—so much so that in two games in a span of three and a half hours they allowed a mere 10 points to their opponents. They walked out of the gym at Pan Pacific Recreation Center with medals around their necks, smiles on their faces and memories that will last a lifetime. 

“Winning this is way better than the regular season,” said Lipp, who attends Calvary Christian School, one of 10 members of the Palisades Recreation Center’s first girls team to take first in the Citywide tournament.

She had plenty of help from her friends, particularly point guard Katie Sakamoto, who scored 28 points in Palisades’ 35-17 triumph over Mar Vista just three days before in the West Region final in Westwood.

“I like scoring because I get to give my team a good chance of winning,” said Sakamoto, who roots for the Lakers and goes to many games. “This is my first time playing that team [in All-Stars] and I’m glad we won.”

The 11-year-old who lives in the Alphabet Streets, attends Village School and plays club for The Wolfpack in Culver City, has been hooked on the sport ever since she made her first basket through an 8-foot hoop  at the age of 5. She scored 11 points in the semifinals, a 26-6 win against Metro Region champion Yosemite, and again led all scorers with 17 points in Palisades’ 39-4 finals victory over Valley Region winner Northridge.

Lockdown defense by 11-year-old Cleo Badt, 9-year-old Joey Hansen and 10-year-olds Georgia Elliott, Caroline Schinto and Liana Krikheli, combined with tough rebounding of 9-year-old Joey Hansen and 11-year-old Hayden Cwiertnia and accurate shooting from 11-year-olds Spencer Smith-Davis and Emma Kroeger proved unstoppable as the hand-picked squad of homegrown talent also registered decisive victories over Stoner and Cheviot Hills during regional play earlier this month. 

Cwiertnia had 10 points while fellow St. Matthew’s student Smith-Davis added eight as Palisades opened a 14-2 halftime lead over Northridge, then exploded for 25 points in the second half—sparked by back-to-back steals and layups by Sakamoto.

“I felt really confident in my team,” said Cwiertnia, who played on the Bulldogs in the regular season. “This feels way better than winning our league.”

For Kori Elliott, who coached the squad with Brian Hansen, teamwork and unselfishness were the keys.

“We only had three or four practices but we did a ton of scrimmaging and just let them go,” Elliott said. “They pass the ball and look for the open person. It’s a joy to coach these girls.”

The reward for their efforts will be a banner hanging in the Palisades Recreation Center gym next to the one the local park’s Minor Division boys earned in 2017.