Girls Hoops Takes Down Taft

First-round playoff games sometimes turn into blowouts, but Palisades High girls varsity basketball coach Torino Johnson was happy his team got a stern test in last Thursday’s City Section Division I opener againstvisiting Taft.

The 14th-seeded Toreadors led 9-6 after the first quarter and  it wasn’t until Emma Newman’s three-pointer with 5:22 left in the third quarter that Palisades seized control en route to a 47-33 victory.

“I loved it,” Johnson said. “You need for these kids to understand that anyone can beat you. They used a zone, which is what we struggle with, and from a maturity standpoint it was good to see us grow up and have to deal with adversity.”

PaliHi trailed 20-16 at halftime, which gave the Toreadors hope for an upset.

“That was the best first half we’v played all year,” Taft Coach Mark Drucker said. “I found out today that [starting point guard] Mia Peoples has a concussion and wouldn’t play tonight, but the rest of the team responded and we surprised them. I knew their pressure would eventually get to us and it did. They’ve got great athletes.”

Newman had 13 points, point guard Kayla Merrill-Gillett had nine, Chaniya Pickett had eight  and Hayley Hutt added seven  points for the Dolphins, who advanced to Tuesday’s quarterfinals against sixth-seeded Carson.

“I let the girls call out their own plays in the first half and they didn’t do a great job of it,” Johnson said. “Still, our goal is the City championship and  we have to keep improving every game.”   “We had practiced againt the zone but we weren’t attacking it enough in the first half,” Newman said. “Sometimes we drop down to the other team’s level.”

Senior guard Erina Niwa, who had one basket and three assists, cited lack of communication as the reason for th Dolphins’ first-half woes.

“We weren’t talking on offense and we weren’t rebounding,” she said. “Everyone was tanding and looking and as a result we weren’t getting open. I’d be lying if I said  it’s not in th back of my mind that this could b my last game. I was upset at halftime but Emma and Kayla calmed me down. It was better when he (Johnson) called the plays.”

Merrill-Gillett’s driving layup sparked a 17-6 third-quarter run that put the Dolphins ahead to stay.

“This was our 30th game, so we have nothing to prove other than to ourselves,” Johnson said. “We want to be very methodical in our offense and play at a consistently high level on defense.”

If victorious Tuesday, Palisades will take on the Narbonne-Hamilton winner in the semifinals Saturday at Southwest College.