CIF GIRLS ROUNDUP

Morningside 66, Channel Islands 55--The top-seeded Lady Monarchs rallied from an 18-point deficit in the second quarter behind 6-foot-5 center Lisa Leslie, who scored 14 of her game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter at Channel Islands in Oxnard.

Leslie was benched for most of the first half after picking up two fouls within the first two minutes of the 5-AA quarterfinal game. Without its top player, Morningside fell behind 34-16 and trailed 37-22 at the half.

She returned in the second half to help the Lady Monarchs (26-3) pull within 48-45 at the end of the third quarter. Morningside took the lead for good, 51-49, with 5:44 left to play following back-to-back layups by Akiba Flanagan and Princess Murray.

The Lady Monarchs will play Chino (25-2), a 58-38 winner over Redlands, Saturday night in the semifinals.

West Torrance 48, Los Altos 35--The Warriors parlayed a tough defensive effort and a game-high 18 points from guard Rosa Olloque into a decisive victory in the quarterfinals of the 4-A playoffs at West.

Although West Coach Kevin McManus said his team was “sluggish” on offense--the Warriors scored 40 points less than they did in a second-round victory Saturday--he was satisfied with the result.

“The defense did the job,” he said. “We did what we had to do to win. It’s not that we didn’t push the ball up the court. We just weren’t as quick as we usually are.”

The Warriors held Los Altos’ top player, 5-10 center Jennifer Hovelson, to eight points.

West (21-5) will play Bishop Montgomery (17-9) in the semifinals Saturday night.