Dixon still gives L.B. Poly an edge

Long Beach Poly Coach Carl Buggs says there is a direct correlation between his team’s success in the postseason and the arrival of Jasmine Dixon on campus.

When Dixon turned up as a freshman, the Jackrabbits won their first Southern Section title since 1995. During her sophomore and junior seasons, Poly won back-to-back state championships.

Dixon, a guard/forward who will attend NCAA power Rutgers in the fall, leads Poly into the Division I-AA playoffs Saturday, when the Jackrabbits begin their bid to reach the championship game for the seventh consecutive season.

Championship games in all divisions of the Southern and City section playoffs will be contested Feb. 29-March 1.

CITY SECTION

CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION

Defending champion: Taft

Seeded teams: 1. Chatsworth (20-5), 2. Washington (24-5), 3. Narbonne (24-4), 4. Fairfax (24-7)

Outlook: The seeding was thrown for a loop when Reiko Thomas was injured and Narbonne blew a six-point fourth-quarter lead and lost to Washington, 48-47. That misstep by Narbonne, which beat Washington in an earlier meeting, gave the No. 1 position to inconsistent Chatsworth. The Chancellors lost their last three to high-level Southland opponents, but should breeze into the title game for lack of significant competition…. Sisters Kimberly and Gennifer Brandon, who are 6-feet-1 and 6-3 respectively, have each averaged 13 points and about 10 rebounds for Chatsworth…. Ashely Wakefield and Mykiea Russell each have averaged 10 points for Washington…. Narbonne is still the class of the field, with notable victories over Brea Olinda, Redondo, Mira Costa and La Jolla Country Day. Narbonne has three players averaging between 15 and 10 points: Thomas (14.9), Gabrielle Clark (11.0) and Danielle LeNoir (9.9). The Gauchos were excluded from last year’s playoffs for violation of section rules, opening the door for Taft to beat Washington, 39-36, and become the first team from the San Fernando Valley to win the major division championship.

SMALL SCHOOLS

Defending champion: View Park

Seeded teams: 1. View Park (20-5), 2. L.A.CES (15-7), 3. Harbor Teacher Prep (10-4), 4. Sherman Oaks CES (15-5).

Outlook: It’s hard to imagine either of the top two teams getting sidetracked on their way to a rematch of last year’s title game, which View Park won, 59-52. View Park is led by sisters – junior Natasha Pruitt, who has averaged 15.8 points, and freshman Danielle Pruitt, who has averaged 12.9. Freshman Taylor Holeman and junior Mirin Fader have averaged 9.4 points each for L.A.CES…. Seventh-seeded Northridge Academy, whose Samantha Seals has averaged 16.4 points, has a couple of close losses to S.O.CES, but would have to upset L.A.CES to reach the finals..

SOUTHERN SECTION

DIVISION I-AA

Defending champion: Long Beach Poly

Seeded teams: 1. Poly (21-2), 2. Millikan (22-3), 3. Brea Olinda (23-3), 4. Mater Dei (23-3).

Outlook: Poly is not necessarily the most skilled team in the division, but the Jackrabbits have depth and overwhelming physical strength. Led by Jasmine Dixon and Monique Oliver, they consume opponents like a tidal wave. They also have athletic guards, especially defensive stopper April Cook. If they get any kind of perimeter production, it’s over…. Millikan, led by Courtney Clements, has never won a section title but is the only Southland team to defeat Poly this season…. Kelsey Harris-led Brea played the season without two of its best players, but the Ladycats return intact next season. They are going for their 16th section title…. Mater Dei has a couple of outstanding freshmen in Alexyz Vaioletama and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis. Any number of teams would have been a reasonable fourth-seeded team, including Lynwood, Ventura or Fullerton Troy, but Mater Dei’s victory over Mira Costa earlier this month was the difference…. Ventura will be interesting to watch. The Cougars don’t score points – leading scorer Nicole Frank averages only 7.8 – but neither do opponents, who average only 32…. Eight teams have won state titles: Brea (8), Bishop Montgomery (6), Lynwood (3), Troy (3), Poly (2), Bishop Amat (2), Buena (2) and Mater Dei (1)…. Ten teams from this division are ranked in The Times’ final regular-season top 25…. There are potentially major second-round games, Bishop Amat vs. Ventura and Santa Margarita vs. Troy.

DIVISION I-A

Defending champion: San Clemente

Seeded teams: 1. Redondo (22-3), 2. Muir (23-1), 3. Mira Costa (21-5), 4. San Clemente (22-4).

Outlook: Atonye Nyingifa of Redondo has been one of the two outstanding performers of this season, along with Poly’s Dixon…. Coach Mary Mulligan has guided San Clemente to five titles in the last seven seasons. Four starters, led by Kristen Riley and Andrea Wertz, are back from last year’s squad, which upset Muir, Redondo and Mira Costa – the three top-seeded teams this season – to win the title…. Muir is 23-1 behind Cherrish Wallace and Eliza Pierre, but the Mustangs haven’t played an elite-level opponent since beating Marlborough, 43-41, on Jan. 5…. Canyon Springs might be ready to make a run and repeat the championship it won in 2005. Three of the Cougars’ five losses, including those to highly-regarded Mira Costa and Bishop Montgomery, were by five points or less.

DIVISION II-AA

Defending champion: Miller

Seeded teams: 1. Miller (23-2), 2. Edison (20-3), 3. Santa Monica (22-4), 4. Etiwanda (20-7).

Outlook: Miller Coach Mel Wilkins said he tried to hold down the score against some opponents so his team would be ready for close competition in the playoffs…. Edison received a shot in the arm this season from Lynwood transfer Priscila Cergol and freshman Bonnie Samuelson…. Santa Monica turned in one of the great performances of the season with its 77-55 victory over Ayala. If the Vikings, led by Daisy Feder and Katy Keating, can repeat that performance through the playoffs, the result might be academic…. Etiwanda has been under the radar all season despite Amber Williams’s 19.5 scoring average…. In Cierra Warren, Los Osos has a dimension few teams have, an athletic 6-foot-4 center. In only three games has she not had at least 10 points and 10 rebounds. If the Grizzlies get a bump in production from other starters and avoid mistakes, they might have enough to make a spirited run.

DIVISION II-A

Defending champion:

Seeded teams: 1. Ayala (23-4), 2. Cajon (24-3), 3. Perris (23-4), 4. St. Joseph (24-1).

Outlook: When they played earlier this season, Ayala defeated Cajon, 47-46…. Ayala guard Rebekah Gardner was a Times All-Star as a junior, and Cajon junior Layshia Clarendon is having that kind of season this year…. Perris played one of the extraordinary games of all time on Feb. 2 when it defeated La Jolla The Bishop’s, 101-92, in double-overtime as Kiyana Stamps scored 30 points. It was the second-highest scoring game in state history…. The only team to have beaten St. Joseph is Erie (Pa.) Mercyhurst Prep.

DIVISION III-AA

Defending champion: Marlborough

Seeded teams: 1. Magnolia (22-5), 2. South Torrance, 3. Marlborough (17-9), 4. Summit (24-1).

Outlook: Magnolia may have the best defense in the division, plays the game at the fastest speed, and knows how to finish around the basket. Still, South Torrance defeated Magnolia, 53-50, on Dec. 19…. Marlborough has been really inconsistent, and Summit is unproven in big games. That opens the door for the likes of St. Paul, Windward or Pacific Hills. Still, it will take a good effort to beat Marlborough, whose Nikki Speed and Talia Caldwell are among those returning from last year’s championship team…. Summit, after a 49-48 loss to Silverado, has won 23 in a row. The SkyHawks have one telling victory, 55-39, over Corona Santiago…. Battle-tested St. Paul has played quality teams with credible results, but only a victory over Bishop Amat to show for it…. Windward, too, is battle-tested and has one of the division’s outstanding players in three-point shooter Monica DeAngelis.

DIVISION III-A

Defending champion: Silverado

Seeded teams: 1. Colony (21-2), 2. Silverado (22-5), 3. Chaffey (22-2), 4. Walnut.

Outlook: Then-fourth-seeded Silverado upset third-seeded Colony in last year’s final, 64-52…. Three of the top four scorers for Colony, including Amani Butler (19.2 points) are back this season. Silverado lost its two leading scorers from a year ago, but the next four returned…. The only two losses by Chaffey were to Colony, 60-55 and 69-49. Joyce Koloa has averaged 15.2 points for the Tigers…. Top-seeded a year ago, Indio lost five of its top six scorers, but Camille Cooper has averaged 23.5 points.

DIVISION IV-AA

Defending champion: St. Mary’s Academy

Seeded teams: 1. St. Mary’s (20-7), 2. Bell-Jeff (21-5), 3. New Roads (16-6), 4. Arrowhead Christian (20-4).

Outlook: St. Mary’s and Bell-Jeff split games in Santa Cruz League play. St. Mary’s won by five, Bell-Jeff won by six…. Costa Mesa was the runner-up last season, and could face Arrowhead Christian in the quarterfinals. The Mustangs won that matchup a year ago. Four of Costa Mesa’s top five scorers returned, including Michelle Figueroa, who averaged 19.2 points.

DIVISION IV-A

Defending champion: Laguna Hills

Seeded teams: 1. Laguna Hills (19-6), 2. Beaumont (21-3), 3. Irvine University (18-8), 4. Flintridge Prep (20-5).

Outlook: Led by Lauren Engeln, who has averaged 18.9 points, defending champion Laguna Hills has beaten third-seeded University three times this season, twice by at least 23 points…. Irvine is the third-place team from the Pacific Coast League, the division’s strongest, and only once was it beaten by more than eight points by Laguna Hills or University…. Beaumont’s two leading scores, Joanna Hernandez and Vanessa Bliss, are averaging 11 points; the team averages 48, about six more than Laguna Hills.

DIVISION V-AA

Defending champion: Whittier Christian

Seeded teams:1. Whittier Christian (20-7), 2. Maranatha (20-5), 3. Village Christian (18-8), 4. Villanova Prep (17-7).

Outlook: Whittier Christian is 5-0 against the other three seeded teams. Its closest game was a 45-43 victory at Village Christian. Whittier Christian beat Village Christian, 40-28, in last year’s title game…. The top three seeded teams are all from the aptly named Alpha League.

DIVISION V-A

Defending champion: Los Angeles Baptist

Seeded teams: 1. Crossroads (16-7), 2. Bishop Conaty-Loretto (16-5), 3. Sierra Canyon (19-4), 4. L.A. Baptist (10-11).

Outlook: Crossroads has already beaten the other three seeded teams. Its closest game was a 55-50 victory over Sierra Canyon…. L.A. Baptist won last year’s title with a 63-58 victory over Bishop Conaty-Loretto…. It’s unlikely the champion will come from outside the top four.

martin.henderson@latimes.com