HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS : Birmingham Clinches League Title With 88-56 Victory

Senior Keith Owens scored a game-high 27 points Thursday night as Birmingham High claimed the outright Northwest Valley League title with a 88-56 victory over Monroe at Birmingham. The boys basketball championship is the school’s first since 1961.

“We won it outright and that’s the way we wanted it,” Birmingham Coach Jeff Halpern said. “Now we’ve got the home court advantage in the first three rounds of the playoffs. Two years ago, I lost in the City semifinals at Van Nuys and it was really a tough thing to take. I don’t want to have to remember that this year.”

Senior forward Ennerea Maxwell had 21 points and 14 rebounds for Birmingham (19-2 overall, 9-1 in league), which scored the first 10 points of the third quarter to take a 55-31 lead. Tom Conkel led Monroe (0-10 in league) with 11 points.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Van Nuys 82, Sylmar 70--Larry Keys scored 22 points as Van Nuys won a East Valley League game. Rashe Dorsey added 13 for Van Nuys. Sylmar (2-14, 2-8) was led by senior forward Larry Legleiter’s career-high 28 points, his fourth straight 20-point performance. Marc Cisneros had 23 points for Sylmar.

Taft 96, El Camino Real 56--Kevin Franklin scored 30 points and Brian Smith added 21 for Taft in the Valley League win. Darren Kolinsky had 16 points and Vernon Middleton added 12 for Taft (15-6, 7-5). Taft’s Jason Bromberg matched his season high with 16 assists. Nick Warner led El Camino (7-12, 3-8) with 14 points.

Granada Hills 71, Canoga Park 55--Gary Gray scored 21 points and had 19 rebounds to lead Granada Hills (16-4, 8-2) to a Northwest Valley League win. Terrell Smith added 14 points and 5 assists. Andre Ball had 11 points and 9 rebounds for Canoga Park (8-12, 3-7).

San Fernando 64, Chatsworth 51--Shelton Boykin scored 18 points and Charles Thomas had 17 for San Fernando in a Northwest Valley League game. Tory Stephens and Joe Mauldin added 12 and 11 points for San Fernando (13-8, 3-7). Kendell McDaniels led Chatsworth (7-11, 3-7) with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Poly 44, Verdugo Hills 35--Mike Ornelas scored 16 points and Carlos Ortiz had 15 and 8 rebounds for Poly (6-4 in league) in a East Valley League game. Mihn Lieu led Verdugo Hills with 13.

Bel-Air Prep 61, Providence 58--Jeff Cirillo scored 18 points, Rich Campus had 15 and Mike Brancato scored 11 points for Providence (6-12, 1-10) in a Delphic League game.

Highland Hall 61, Clearview 60--Wes Parrish made two free throws with five seconds left to clinch the win for Highland Hall in a Westside League game. The win gave Highland Hall (7-9, 6-4) a third-place league finish and a berth in the playoffs. Parrish finished with 19 points and 18 rebounds. Dax Tobin led Highland Hall with 26 points.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Kennedy 65, Van Nuys 25--Tisa Rush scored a game-high 20 points and April Ham added 16 as Kennedy (18-3, 10-0) wrapped up its ninth straight league title. Diane DeCree also had 12 points, 15 rebounds and 5 steals for Kennedy, which posted its 90th consecutive league win.

Chatsworth 55, Cleveland 33--Erica Miller scored 12 points to lead Chatsworth (11-5, 6-4) to a Valley League win and a second-place tie with Cleveland. Dianne Williams added 10 points and 12 rebounds.

El Camino Real 68 Granada Hills 35--Lisa Huffaker scored a game-high 19 points, and three other El Camino Real players scored in double figures in a Valley League game. Melanie Clarke scored 14 for El Camino (5-5 in league) and Kerrie Marshall had 13 points and 16 rebounds. Sandy Kuranishi and Erin Sommerville had 10 points each for Granada Hills (0-10 in league).

North Hollywood 80, Grant 51--Senior Debbie Herz had 22 points and 15 rebounds, Melinda Anger scored 15 points and Leticia Carranza had 13 points and 7 assists as North Hollywood (15-2, 10-0) clinched its third straight West Valley League championship. Christa Smith scored 22 points for Grant (3-10, 2-8).

Reseda 52, Taft 28--Angela Smith scored 20 points and Cheryl Hightower added 17 for Reseda (12-2, 8-2) in a West Valley League game. Reseda finished the season in second place in the West Valley League behind North Hollywood. Julie Koppekin scored 12 points for Taft (7-8, 2-8).

Birmingham 50, Canoga Park 41--Shaggaro Lattin had a game-high 23 points and 20 rebounds for Birmingham (12-7, 5-5), which advances to the playoffs with a third-place finish in the West Valley League. Stephanie DeLange led Canoga Park (6-11, 4-6) with 14.

Notre Dame 45, Chaminade 29--In the San Fernando League third-place playoff game, sophomore center Andrea Banducci had 22 points and 17 rebounds and Kristen Borella had 12 points and 7 rebounds for Notre Dame. The teams finished the regular season tied for third place with 4-6 records in league.

Sylmar 72, San Fernando 65--Keri Rincon had 40 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals, and Tisa Jackson had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Sylmar in the Pac-6 League game at Sylmar. Marina Galan scored 17 points and Blanca Del Toro had 14 as five players scored in double figures for Sylmar.

Burroughs 70, Burbank 67--Kim Powers scored 21 points and had 9 rebounds for Burroughs (16-5, 6-4) in a Foothill League win. Jenny Stoll (12 points), Barbara Hofer (10) and Kelly McCauley (10) also scored in double figures for Burroughs. Christy Calderon led Burbank (7-3 in league) with 24 points.

L.A. Lutheran 44, Montclair Prep 36--Junior forward Maricela Lopez had 18 points and 12 rebounds for L.A. Lutheran (10-11, 8-6) in the Alpha League game. Senior guard Peri Booth added eight points and 12 rebounds. Charis Kubrin had 12 points for Montclair Prep (4-10 in league).

Monroe 45, Hollywood 41--Annette Robinson had 18 points and 24 rebounds and Karen Gohata added 10 points for Monroe in a Pac-6 League game at Monroe. Maria Wallace had 18 rebounds for Monroe (10-3, 9-1).