Pali High Squads Play for City Titles

All season long, the girls basketball team has been on a mission to repeat as the City Section Division II champion. The Dolphins are one game from reaching that goal, but they are out to show they are the best team in the entire section, regardless of what division they play in.

Last year, Palisades beat Carson, which went on to win the City Division I crown. This season, the Dolphins have beaten Fairfax twice and the Lions are playing for the Division I title Saturday. Palisades, meanwhile, plays North Hills Monroe in the Division II championship game Friday at 6 p.m. at Roybal Learning Center in Los Angeles. 

The top-seeded Dolphins (27-5) are riding an 18-game winning streak dating back to Dec. 29 and have won all 17 games against City opponents this season. Led by center Donae Moguel (16.4 points, 11.0 rebounds, 1.3 blocks per game), point guard Ashlie Bruner (11.7 points, 5.8 assists, 3.9 steals) and shooting guard Skai Thompson (10.8 points, 3.2 steals), they are averaging 54.8 points and went undefeated in the Western League.

Though Palisades is the clear-cut favorite, it cannot take second-seeded Monroe lightly. The Vikings (22-9) did not drop a game on their way to the East Valley League title and are also undefeated against City opponents this winter. Since losing five straight from Dec. 27 to Jan. 4, they have won 13 of 14, including playoff victories over Birmingham, Westchester and Eagle Rock. They average 40.1 points led by junior guard Ayisat Afolabi (20.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.4 steals).  

GIRLS SOCCER

Since Coach David Matthews took over after the third game of the season, the Dolphins have gone 15-3 and have reached their second consecutive City final. 

Second-seeded Palisades (17-4-0) will meet top-seeded Woodland Hills El Camino Real (21-2-2) on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Contreras Learning Center in Los Angeles. It is a rematch of last year's final when the Conquistadores prevailed 1-0 in sudden death overtime.

The Dolphins earned their spot in the championship game with a 2-1 victory over Reseda Cleveland on Tuesday at Stadium by the Sea. Katie van Daalen Wetters and Eve Babcock scored in the first half off assists by Clara Clymer while goalie Avid Khorramian had to make only two saves. Diana Argueta got the Cavaliers closer in the 51st minute, but Annika Lundeberg made five stops in goal to prevent the equalizer.

El Camino Real advanced to its third straight final and 11th in 12 years with a 7-0 victory over West Valley league rival Chatsworth on Wednesday. History is on the line for the Conquistadores, who will try to equal Chatsworth's mark of 11 City championships. 

BOYS BASKETBALL

Palisades' season ended in dramatic fashion Feb. 22 with a 68-66 quarterfinal defeat to Crenshaw in the City Division I playoffs. The fourth-seeded Dolphins (17-11) claimed a share of their first league title since 1997 and were looking for their chance to avenge last year's semifinal loss to Taft. Instead, the fifth-seeded Cougars (24-4) stunned Palisades on Micah Winn's three-pointer with five seconds left and won, 68-66.

Tyler Duke scored 26 points, including two free throws to give the Dolphins a 66-65 lead with 11 ticks remaining, but All-City guard Donovan Johnson was held to nine points.

BOYS SOCCER

After winning the Western League, the Dolphins were seeded eighth out of 32 teams in the City's Large School playoffs. They shut out Torres 3-0 in the first round and routed Taft 6-0 in the second round. On Feb. 23, Palisades (15-5-1) traveled to top-seeded Bell and lost 1-0 on Heriberto Cruz's goal in the 70th minute.

Senior striker Kyle Warner led the Dolphins with 13 goals while Ben Kim and Marvin Lemus each added seven. Goalie Brandon Newman had nine shutouts.