City Can’t Stand Up to Opponents in Sectional

NORTHRIDGE —  Battle of the Valley?

This was more like the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

The Southern Section again dominated its City Section counterparts on Friday night in the region’s premier showcase of senior girls’ and boys’ basketball players.

The girls overcame a sluggish start to run off with a 79-53 victory. The boys sprinted to a 17-point halftime lead and won, 97-78, before a capacity crowd of about 1,400 at Cal State Northridge.

The lopsided results came as little surprise.

The Southern Section girls’ roster featured 10 players honored last week by The Times as All-Valley or All-Ventura County players, including Valley player of the year Kate Beckler of Alemany.

The City girls had one player honored.

“There was a lot of talent on this team,” said L’Tanya Robnett of Harvard-Westlake, who had nine points and won the halftime three-point shooting contest.

“We were expected to win big by a lot of people and it took a while to get over the nerves and expectations.”

The Rice-bound Beckler, third on the region’s all-time list with more than 2,100 career points, scored 26 in her final high school game and was selected her team’s most valuable player.

New Mexico State-bound guard Sinnamonn Garrett of Crescenta Valley, who scored 29 points two weeks ago in a San Gabriel Valley all-star game, added 15.

Tenie Hartounian of Hoover scored nine of her 11 points during a three-minute flurry midway through a second half that saw the Southern Section outscore the City, 40-21.

The City, seeking its first girls’ victory in the four-year history of the event, stayed with the Southern Section in the first half.

Rasheeda Gray of Monroe scored 14 of her 19 points before intermission, and the City trailed, 39-32.

Then the Southern Section’s superior depth and ability took over.

“We had a feeling we weren’t going to win, but we wanted to stay with them as long as we could and never gave up,” said Gray, the City’s most valuable player.

Leslie Mui of Grant had 10 points and Tiffany Furrell of El Camino Real added eight for the City.

“We came out and played with heart, hustle and defense,” said City Coach Raquel Alotis of Chatsworth. “But, eventually, that wears off.”

Southern Section Coach Nori Parvin of Newbury Park did an unorthodox thing during her team’s practices last week. She made her all-stars practice free throws over and over.

The Southern Section responded by shooting 75% from the line, making 33 of 44 attempts. The City was 11 of 24.

Valley player of the year Russell Lakey of Harvard-Westlake and Ventura County player of the year Branduinn Fullove of Simi Valley joined forces on the Southern Section boys’ roster, and even they were overshadowed by a host of talented teammates.

Josiah Johnson of Montclair Prep, who will sign with UCLA next week, scored a game-high 18 points while playing in front of his father and brother, former Bruin standouts Marques and Kris Johnson.

Josiah Johnson, the Southern Section’s most valuable player, left the game with 2:14 left after injuring his left knee.

Todd Tomlinson of Moorpark and Jesse Foster of Campbell Hall each added 15 points.

Gene Myvett of Littlerock, who scored 11 points, stole the spotlight at halftime, winning the dunk contest with an array of acrobatic slams that brought the crowd to its feet several times.

Fullove, the runner-up in the dunk contest, finished with 11 points.

Lakey, who has committed to Vanderbilt, didn’t score his first basket until there was 5:30 to play and finished with four points.

Robert Palafox of Monroe scored nine points and was the City’s most valuable player.

Ronald Gray of Taft and Jaimme Harris of Canoga Park each scored 13 points for the City, which fell to 1-3 against the Southern Section.