Photo: Steve Galluzzo
By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor
It was too close for comfort for the home team at halftime of last Thursday’s City Open Division girls basketball quarterfinal.
After racing to a 10-point lead in the first quarter, top-seeded Palisades appeared well on its way to an easy victory over No. 8-seeded Taft. The Toreadors, however, had other ideas and cut their deficit to three by halftime.
“This wasn’t a case of us being complacent or taking them lightly—we knew they’re really good,” Palisades Coach Adam Levine said. “It’s just that they’re scrappy and everything bad happened to us. We got into foul trouble and we missed shots.”
Photo: Steve Galluzzo
The Dolphins talked things over at intermission and came out with renewed energy in the third quarter and pulled away for a 45-19 victory that wasn’t as easy as the final score indicated.
“They made us work for it,” Levine said. “We’ll need to be better the next round.”
Palisades racheted up its defense in the fourth quarter, holding the Toreadors without a field goal. In fact, over the final 16 minutes Taft scored seven points.
Jane Nwaba led the Dolphins with 14 points and 14 rebounds, Alexis Pettis scored 12 points, Sammie Arnold had eight points, nine rebounds and four assists and Taylor Arnold added five points and eight rebounds.
Palisades plays No. 4 Granada Hills in the semifinals Saturday at 4:30 at Southwest College.
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