Palisades Third at Westchester Tournament

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

After a rough start to the season the Palisades High girls basketball team is hitting its stride and Coach Adam Levine is optimistic about his squad as Western League action resumes this week.

The Dolphins won three out of four games to take third place in the Westchester Ball over Winter Break, losing only their semifinal contest to Crenshaw. They opened the tournament with a 50-point win against Contreras, followed it with a 57-17 victory over El Camino Real and, after a 58-37 loss to the Cougars, clinched third thanks to a 47-41 triumph over San Fernando at Serra High in Gardena.

Palisades dropped four of its first five games, including a home loss to City favorite Westchester, the Open Division runner-up last winter. The Comets have started 16-0 and beat Crenshaw by five in a tournament game Nov. 18. Those two along with Granada Hills, Hamilton and reigning Open champion Bimingham are  the leading contenders for the eight-team bracket, with Palisades, Taft, Eagle Rock and King Drew also in the mix. Palisades resumed league action Monday with a 30-point win at Venice and hosts LACES at 4:30 Friday. Senior forwards Taylor and Elise Arnold lead the squad along with guards Ayla Teegardin, Alyssa Ramirez, Elly Tierney and Brooke Shibata.

Palisades advanced to the Open Division semifinals last season after three consecutive City title runs (the first in Division I and the last two in Open). The 79-53 loss to Westchester December 7 snapped a 35-game league winning streak dating back to Jan. 29, 2019. After beating Hamilton to win the first of back-to-back City Open crowns, Palisades capped off the 2019-20 season with a 51-36 victory over Santa Monica to win the SoCal Regional Division II title.

Now in his fifth season, Levine is hoping to guide the Dolphins back to the top and has scheduled strong nonleague opponents to sharpen up his team for the playoffs. Palisades will host Liberty from Henderson, Nevada on Saturday, travels south to Garden Grove to play Orangewood Academy on Jan. 24 and hits the road again Feb. 2 to face Ontario Christian, one day before its league finale at Fairfax.   

Five of the 11 girls on the varsity roster are underclassmen, one is a junior and five are seniors. Palisades fell to Shalhevet 43-40 on Tuesday.