Prep Basketball GIRLS : North Hollywood Takes Over First

North Hollywood High is a fourth-quarter team, according to Huskies’ coach Rich Allen. It has spent the entire season pulling off one-point victories after trailing the first three periods.

So it seemed only fitting that the Huskies would wait until the fourth quarter against Canoga Park High to do what they do best--win.

North Hollywood beat Canoga Park, 56-51, at home to remain undefeated this season and now have sole possesion of first place in the Valley 3-A League.

The Huskies, who came into Wednesday afternoon’s game tied for first place with Canoga Park with a league record of 4-0, is now 10-0 overall. North Hollywood finished second to Canoga Park in the league last season.

“We would be 2-8 if we’re unlucky,” Allen said. “But one thing this team does well is meet the challenge when the opponent starts coming back. This was our best game this season by far.”

The Huskies trailed at the half, 28-27, after being outrebounded, 29-13, and giving up 21 turnovers. But behind the shooting of senior Sonja Robertson and junior Trell Whitmore, they battled back to lead, 39-38, at the end of the third period. Noth Hollywood led by 10 with four minutes left in the game.

Robertson led scorers and rebounders with 25 points and 22 rebounds, while Whitmore added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Lori Clemons led Canoga Park scorers with 18 points and junior guard Kamela Mallory had 15 points. Chris Attanasio had a team-high 14 rebounds for the Hunters.