Morningside’s Girls Gain Revenge Over Washington

Morningside High Lady Monarchs Coach Frank Scott said his team definitely had something to prove against visiting Washington High in the championship game of the Morningside Tournament Wednesday night.

After watching his defending state champions and No. 1 team in the nation defeat the Lady Generals, 65-54, Scott said he was satisfied.

Morningside’s only loss during the summer was to Washington in the L.A. Games.

“We don’t like to lose and we definitely don’t like to lose at home,” Scott said.

The game plan for Morningside was simple: Get the ball to preseason All-American selection Lisa Leslie. Once the 6-5 senior got her hands on the ball, she went to work collecting a game-high 38 points, including 22 in the first half.

Washington had a tough time getting its offense on track early in the game.

“I think our main problem tonight was a combination of nerves and a tough game by Lisa Leslie,” Washington Coach Phil Chase said.

When Leslie wasn’t scoring, she was clogging the middle, forcing the Lady Generals to take the majority of their shots from the perimeter.

Morningside enjoyed a 14-6 lead after the first quarter, with Leslie accounting for 12 points. It was much of the same in the second quarter as the Lady Monarchs built a 35-19 halftime advantage.

Washington basically traded baskets with Leslie and Morningside in the third period. Leslie scored 14 of her team’s 16 points in the period. The Lady Generals scored 17.

“The difference from tonight’s game and the game we played in the summer was that the level of intensity in this game was a lot higher,” Chace said. “If we meet them in the state tournament, it (intensity) will be higher than tonight.”

Morningside is 4-0 and Washington, the defending 4-A City champion, is 5-1.