Girls’ basketball: City gets it right, in a backwards sort of way
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Did anyone else see this coming? Is there a reason why no one who determined the top-seeded teams in the City Section didn’t visualize the obvious?
Reiko Thomas scored 20 points for third-seeded Narbonne on Thursday in its 63-51 victory over second-seeded Washington.
This is the same Reiko Thomas who got hurt while Narbonne had a six-point fourth-quarter lead over Washington in a Marine League game a couple weeks ago, and whose injury -- and departure from the game -- allowed Washington to claw out a 48-47 victory. The first time those teams played, Narbonne won, 60-52.
But it was that most recent victory that allowed Chatsworth to move into the No. 1 spot in the seeding process. If I understand it correctly, it was that victory that allowed Washington to move to No. 2, and Narbonne to drop to No. 3 -- after having been ranked among the top 10 or so in the state.
Not that it makes much difference now because the two best teams in the City will be playing for the championship when Narbonne and Chatsworth face each other at the Sports Arena at 6 p.m. on March 1.
But since Narbonne and Washington had already played twice, wouldn’t it have made sense -- actual, logical sense -- to consider the injury’s role in the loss and still make Narbonne the No. 1 team heading into the playoffs? A semifinal Thursday between Chatsworth and Washington would have been far more appealing -- and far more telling -- than a rubber match between Narbonne and Washington because, frankly, we knew Narbonne was the better team.
Am I the only one who saw that coming?
-- Martin Henderson