CITY GIRLS 4-A : Van Nuys Gives Washington a Scare, but Generals Win

The Van Nuys girls’ basketball team has been one of the big surprises of the City Section this season, and the Wolves almost surprised themselves Friday.

Van Nuys was in contention in the 4-A championship game early in the second half at the Sports Arena. Highly regarded Washington led, 33-32, in the third quarter with its star player--senior guard Detra Lockhart--out with an ankle injury.

But Washington unleashed its running game in the fourth quarter on its way to a 65-49 victory.

It was the second consecutive title for the top-seeded Generals, who improved to 27-3. They also clinched a berth in next week’s Southern California Regional. Van Nuys (22-4) has a chance at receiving an at-large berth when the pairings are announced Sunday.

“I’m not surprised Van Nuys was that close to us,” Washington Coach Phil Chase said. “When you lose your best player, you expect to have some problems. Luckily, I have seven or eight other girls that I can call on. They were able to get untracked and start playing our game in the second half.”

Van Nuys guards Feltina Means (13 points) and Houng Thai combined for three layups to pull the Wolves within 33-32 with six minutes remaining in the third quarter.

That’s when things began falling apart for Van Nuys. Washington guard Remitha Houston took charge, scoring 20 points in the second half on her way to a game-high 22.

Washington took a 52-38 lead into the final quarter.

“We knew we were good enough to stay up with them,” said Van Nuys forward Stacie Toon, who finished with eight points and 15 rebounds. “We just lost our intensity down the stretch. We fell apart by not getting back on defense fast enough.”