Pali High Girls Hoops Aims for City Section ‘Three-Peat’

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Once again, the Palisades High girls basketball team has one of the hardest schedules in

Southern California and Coach Adam Levine hopes that strategy will pay dividends come playoff time, just   as it has the last two years.    

Palisades graduated only one player last June, but that was City MVP Jane Nwaba, who won the Palisadian-Post Cup Award as the school’s outstanding senior athlete and just finished her freshman season at Pepperdine.

However, returning are point guard Alexis Pettis (known simply as “AP”), shooting guards Sammie Arnold, Sydney Meskin and Sophia Canter, wing Demonnie Lagway (who made the All-State Division II second team last year), forwards Rose Morris, Ivy Scott and twins Elise and Taylor Arnold and center Janelly Portillo. New to the roster is sophomore guard Brooke Shibata.

After posting back-to-back 26- win seasons—the first culminating  in the City Division I title and the second ending with the City Open Division and SoCal Regional Division II championships—Levine is not shying away from tough opponents, even in a compacted season that started five months late because of COVID-19.

Palisades opened up April 19 at highly-ranked Harvard-Westlake in Studio City and lost 72-54. Two nights later the Dolphins beat host Pasadena 63-61. Last week, they fell 66-55 to perennial Southern Section power Windward 66-55,  but regrouped the next day to edge City rival Birmingham, 51-49.

The Dolphins traveled to Serra on Tuesday and have a rematch with Harvard-Westlake tonight at 6 (also on the road) before they begin defense of the Western League title tomorrow at University. Also on the schedule are road games versus ranked CIF programs West Torrance, Redondo Union and Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth. The regular season concludes Friday, May 28 against Venice.

Palisades is ranked No. 1 in the City ahead of Birmingham, who the Dolphins rallied to beat Friday despite missing Lagway, Portillo and Scott. Sammie Arnold sank a floater with 6.1 seconds left to win the game. Taylor Arnold had 17 points, Meskin had eight and Morris had six.