Harvard-Westlake Has to Go Overtime to Win

For the first three minutes of the first quarter, after Harvard-Westlake High opened up a 14-0 lead, it appeared this was going to be easy.

Maybe too easy.

Little did the Wolverines suspect it would be a struggle for survival.

They had to overcome a second-half deficit and overtime in a 61-53 victory over Notre Dame on Friday night in a Mission League girls’ basketball game at Harvard-Westlake.

Notre Dame (12-6, 3-2 in league play) narrowed the gap to 29-26 by halftime and surged ahead by nine midway through the third quarter.

The prospects for Harvard-Westlake (15-6, 4-1) appeared even worse when Brooke Porter picked up her fourth foul and was benched late in the quarter.

Fortunately for the Wolverines, ranked No. 4 in the region by The Times, they still had L’Tanya Robnett on the floor.

Robnett had 10 points in the second half, six in overtime and totaled 34.

“[Porter is] a big part of this team,” Robnett said. “She’s like my other half. So I figured if I came out strong the others would follow.”

Robnett’s three-point basket from the top of lane put the Wolverines ahead for good, 53-50, early in overtime.

Notre Dame kept it close until Sierra Hauser-Price, who scored 17 points, fouled out with 2:06 left.

“This was a big game for us,” Robnett said. “We knew we had to win this game to have a chance to win league.”