Sports

ARENA-BOUND

Although Inglewood High beat Santa Barbara, 70-53, in the Southern Section Division II-AA basketball semifinals Tuesday night at Morningside, the Sentinels acknowledged they weren’t prepared for the Dons’ 2-3 zone defense.

“The 2-3 threw us for a loop,” Inglewood Coach Pat Roy said. “That was something we haven’t faced all year. We’re going to practice (playing) against it in practice.”

Inglewood doesn’t have much time to prepare. The second-seeded Sentinels (27-3) meet top-seeded J.W. North of Riverside (28-0) in the II-AA final at 2:45 p.m. Saturday at the Anaheim Arena.

A victory would give the Sentinels their first section title since 1980, the year they won the mythical national championship with an unbeaten team led by Ralph Jackson and Jay Humphries. Their last title appearance was in 1981.

On Tuesday, forward Paul Pierce led Inglewood to its 14th consecutive victory. The 6-foot-5 junior had game-high totals of 34 points, 13 rebounds, seven steals and three blocked shots. Guards Jason Crowe and Sam Turks added 12 and 11 points, respectively.

“In the second half, we brought Paul up top (on offense),” said Roy, whose team led, 34-32, at halftime. “He creates a whole lot.”

Another area boys’ team reached a section final when Banning defeated Bell, 66-63, Tuesday at South Gate behind guard Jason Pickett’s 28 points. The Pilots (18-11) will defend their City 3-A Division title against Roosevelt (14-11) at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Sports Arena.

In girls’ basketball, second-seeded Peninsula (24-3) plays top-seeded Lynwood (28-1) in the Southern Section Division I-AA final at 8:30 p.m. Saturday at Cal Poly Pomona, and Banning (15-11) meets Pacific League rival Gardena in the City 3-A final at 2:30 p.m. Friday at the Sports Arena.

SOCCER FINALISTS

Three South Bay girls’ soccer teams reached Southern Section finals with victories Tuesday.

Traci Arkenberg scored her 55th and 56th goals of the season to give Peninsula a 2-1 victory over host Capistrano Valley in a Division I semifinal. Arkenberg has either scored or assisted on all eight of her team’s goals in three playoff games. The third-seeded Panthers (23-1-3) will meet top-seeded Marina of Huntington Beach (27-0-1) in the title game at 6 p.m. Friday at Gahr High in Cerritos. Peninsula’s only loss was to Marina early in the season.

In Division II, goals by Bridgett Arnold and Michelle Calas lifted Bishop Montgomery over host Canyon of Anaheim, 2-1. The top-seeded Knights (21-2-2) play Esperanza of Anaheim (19-5-4) for the title at 2 p.m. Saturday at Gahr.

In Division IV, Chadwick earned its first trip to a section final by beating visiting La Reina, 2-1, behind goals by Nicki Gluckman and Wendy Uyeminami. The Dolphins (18-3) meet Prep League rival Pasadena Poly (27-1) in the final at 10 a.m. Saturday at Gahr.

RUNNER’S STORY

Several years ago, Bob Holtel came up with a novel way to test the limits of human endurance.

He ran from Mexico to Canada.

It was a story worth telling, which Holtel does in his book, “Soul, Sweat and Survival on the Pacific Crest Trail.”

The 62-year-old Manhattan Beach resident shares his experiences of running the equivalent of a marathon a day for 110 days, divided in three consecutive summers from 1985-87 when he was a physical education teacher at West Torrance High.

The only thing more daunting than Holtel’s trans-continental run, he says, was the five years it took him to write the book.

“It was easier to run to Canada,” he said.

Those wanting to learn more about Holtel and his improbable journey can meet the author during a book signing at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Hungry Mind, 916 Manhattan Ave. in Manhattan Beach.

PLAY BALL

A strong contingent of 12 South Bay teams opens the prep baseball season Friday in the 26th annual El Segundo tournament.

The 32-team field includes Leuzinger, Narbonne, South Torrance, Peninsula, El Segundo, North Torrance, Hawthorne, Banning, Torrance, Carson, Mira Costa and West Torrance. El Segundo is the only area champion of the tournament in 13 years, having won it in 1991.

Featured players include West Torrance infielder Derek Nicholson, the 1993 South Bay player of the year and a preseason All-American; El Segundo pitcher David Reed, South shortstop Paul Weeks, Carson outfielder Daks Blanks and Peninsula pitchers Brian Bowles and Arin McCarthy.

In 3 p.m. games Friday involving top area teams, Peninsula plays host to Paramount, West is home against Muir and El Segundo travels to Lynwood.

The tournament continues through March 12, when the championship game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at El Segundo Recreation Park.

BASKETBALL HONORS

Twenty-two years after his father was named all-West Coast Conference, Loyola Marymount point guard Jim Williamson has been honored by the league’s coaches.

The former South Torrance High standout became the first Loyola player selected WCC freshman of the year since the inception of the award in 1972, the year Duane Williamson was an all-conference guard for the Lions.

Loyola forward Wyking Jones, a junior from St. Bernard High, was named to the 10-player all-WCC team. St. Mary’s guard Darrell Daniel, a senior from Bishop Montgomery, was honorable mention.

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Serra guard Ricky Price has been named to the West team for the 17th annual McDonald’s All-America game, to be played April 3 in New York City and telecast live by CBS. The Duke-bound Price and guard Jelani Gardner of St. John Bosco in Bellflower were the only Californians selected.

RETURN TRIP

Harbor College hopes the third time is a charm when it plays two-time defending champion Lassen at 2 p.m. today in the quarterfinals of the women’s state basketball tournament at Solano College.

Harbor lost in the quarterfinals the past two seasons, including a 96-91 defeat by Lassen last season. The Seahawks will try to reverse that trend with perhaps their best team in four seasons under Coach Louie Nelson.

Harbor (28-6) features the state’s highest-scoring tandem in sophomore guards LaTasha Burnett and JoAnne Williams, and for the second year in a row leads the state in margin of victory (26.2 points).

The Seahawks advanced to the final eight with victories over Santa Monica, 74-51, and Cerritos, 70-52, in Southern Regional games last week.

Burnett leads the state in scoring with a 28-point average, and also ranks among leaders in rebounding (13.4), assists (7.4), steals (9.2), and shooting (55%). Williams, who returned to basketball this season after taking a year off, ranks sixth among state scorers with a 27.3 average and has made 63 of 177 three-point shots.

Today’s winners advance to the semifinals Friday, with the championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday.

OH BROTHER

A sibling rivalry will be renewed Friday night when Loyola Marymount plays host to USC in a men’s volleyball match.

Brothers Rick and Jim McLaughlin are the respective coaches at Loyola and USC. In their first meeting last year, USC beat Loyola, three games to none.

The Trojans are favored again. They entered the week ranked second in the nation and have a talented team that includes former Mira Costa standout Pat Ivie.

THIS AND THAT

Cal State Dominguez Hills opens the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. basketball tournament at 8 p.m. Friday by playing champion UC Riverside at Riverside. The winner advances the championship game Saturday against the winner of the other semifinal between Cal State Los Angeles and Cal State Bakersfield. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II tournament. . . . The Loyola Marymount baseball team opens West Coast Conference play this weekend with a three-game series against three-time defending WCC champion Pepperdine at Loyola’s George Page Stadium. The first game is at 2:30 p.m. Friday, with a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. Saturday. . . . Teams are being accepted for the Hermosa Beach over-the-line softball tournament on March 19 at the Hermosa Beach Pier. Information: (310) 866-8685.