Girls’ basketball: Dantzler wins first City title

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It was a memorable first season for the Dantzler girls basketball program.

Freshman Dijanai Williams had 23 points and 10 assists and junior forward Evin Sullivan added 10 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks as the Bulls captured the Los Angeles City Section Small Schools Division championship with a 53-38 victory over top-seeded Elizabeth Learning Center at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

The second-seeded Bulls (21-11) opened the game on a 10-0 run and were up 31-18 at halftime. They avenged an overtime loss at the Gardena Tournament in December when they were missing several players. Dantzler went undefeated in the Ocean League and has won 13 straight games.

‘This is our first year in CIF, our first everything, so I feel happy,’ Dantzler Coach Terence Sullivan said. ‘It brings a lot of prestige to our school and makes our staff and principal happy.’

Sullivan pointed to a game against Channel Islands in the St. Bernard Tournament as the turning point of the season. The Bulls cut a 26-point fourth-quarter deficit to one point before losing. ‘That game really brought us together and made us realize what we were capable of,’ he said.

-- Steve Galluzzo