Morningside’s Girls Repeat as State Champs : Prep basketball: Rival coach’s remarks inspire ailing Lisa Leslie to 35 points and 12 rebounds as the Lady Monarchs beat Berkeley, 67-56.

OAKLAND —  Morningside High School girls basketball Coach Frank Scott didn’t need to give his team a pep talk before Saturday’s State Division I title game.

Berkeley Coach Gene Nakamura already had seen to that.

Inspired by remarks made by Nakamura in a Times’ South Bay section story, the Lady Monarchs successfully defended their Division I title with a 67-56 victory over Berkeley at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

In the article, which ran Thursday, Nakamura said that Berkeley was “not awed” by Morningside and boasted that Berkeley center Jualeah Woods had “outplayed” Morningside’s 6-foot-5 Lisa Leslie in a game last year. He also said the Yellowjackets planned to play Leslie “head up,” without the benefit of a special defense.

Scott said he showed the article to his players and brought a copy to Oakland. He pulled it out of his clipboard after the game.

“It gave us a little extra motivation,” Scott said. “I was shocked that he would make those kind of remarks in the newspaper. I showed it to Lisa, and she just went into deep meditation right then.”

Leslie responded with one of the finest games of her illustrious high school career. Despite playing with an undetermined illness, she had 35 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocked shots. She scored 13 of the Lady Monarchs’ last 15 points after Berkeley had drawn within 52-49 with 4:45 left to play.

“(Nakamura) did a lot of talking,” Leslie said. “I think he wanted the publicity. It’s kind of embarrassing when you start talking before you play.”

Nakamura said he didn’t regret making his comments. However, he did give Leslie credit for making his defensive strategy look inadequate. As it turned out, Berkeley didn’t have anyone capable of playing the All-American “head up.”

“Not too many people can guard that 6-5 girl,” he said. “I think she’s matured. I’ve seen her when she gets too emotional and gets in foul trouble. She did a hell of a job staying under control tonight.”

Leslie, who had been plagued by foul trouble in several playoff games, stayed out of trouble this time. She didn’t pick up her third foul until late in the third quarter.

“She wasn’t as aggressive as usual because she wasn’t feeling well,” Scott said. “Maybe that was a blessing in disguise.”

Leslie was taken to a hospital after the game as a precautionary measure, according to officials at the state championships. Scott said she may be suffering from an early case of the chicken pox. Leslie’s younger sister had the chicken pox two or three weeks ago, Scott said.

Leslie’s illness was reflected in the lack of emotion she showed during the game, but it didn’t detract from her performance. After Berkeley cut Morningside’s lead to three points in the fourth quarter, Leslie scored four straight baskets to ice the game.

Asked if he was worried when Berkeley made its move behind point guard Tanda Rucker (25 points, including three three-point shots), Scott replied: “We still had Lisa in the game. Anytime we have her in the game, I feel confident.”

Leslie was able to stay out of foul trouble, but Berkeley wasn’t as fortunate.

Woods, the Yellowjackets’ 6-foot center, picked up her third foul early in the second quarter and her fourth with 5:08 left in the third period. Both times, she was benched for several minutes.

“The calls were not going our way,” Nakamura said. “If they had gone the opposite way, you might have seen a different outcome.”

Morningside also received a strong inside game from 6-4 sophomore forward Janet Davis, who had 14 points and seven rebounds, and from forward Akiba Flanagan, who had a game-high 15 rebounds.

The Lady Monarchs never trailed after reeling off 15 unanswered points to take a 23-12 lead early in the second quarter. Davis had six points during the run and Leslie scored five.

Berkeley had little success shooting over Morningside’s 2-3 zone, making only 24 of 87 field-goal attempts for 27.6%.