Morningside, Palos Verdes Win Easily in Girls’ Playoffs

The Morningside High girls’ basketball team easily cruised through the second round of the CIF 5-A playoffs, defeating Glendale High, 68-37.

Center Lisa Leslie led the Monarchs with a triple-double. The 6-foot-5 junior had 31 points, 23 rebounds and 10 assists. She also blocked 11 shots.

Guard JoJo Witherspoon added 14 points, 13 assists and 5 steals, and freshman forward Janet Davis added 12 points and 10 rebounds in defeating the Pacific League’s second-place team.

Morningside (25-1), the Ocean League champion, will play the winner of Saturday’s game between Hesperia and Rubidoux on Thursday in the third round of the playoffs.

Pioneer High played David to Palos Verdes’ Goliath on Saturday, but the outcome wasn’t the same as in the Bible. The top-seeded Sea Kings, led by 6-5 twins Heidi Burge (28 points, six blocked shots, five rebounds) and Heather Burge (22 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks) rolled to a 74-34 win over the Titans, who had no player taller than 5-10.

It was apparent from the outside that Palos Verdes’ height would give it an advantage in the second-round CIF 4-A playoff game at Pioneer High, so the Sea Kings (23-3) went inside to the Burges.

“You have to go to your bread and butter,” said Palos Verdes Coach Wendell Yoshida. “But I would have liked the other kids to get a little more involved in our offense.”

The Sea Kings took an 11-point lead after the first quarter and were never seriously threatened. They led 61-22 after three quarters.

Pioneer, which defeated West Torrance in the first round Thursday, finished its season, 14-11. The Titans were led by senior guard Rose Red’s 20 points, including four three-pointers.

Also for Palos Verdes, Mary Maloney had eight points and seven rebounds, and Lisa Humphreys added seven points.