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PALISADES GIRLS

City Section Division 4-A

The buzz around the Palisades campus earlier this week was of the chilly weather and of the school’s disappointing double-overtime loss to Crenshaw in a City Section Division 4-A boys’ basketball semifinal last Friday night at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Meanwhile, tucked away in a small practice gym was the girls’ basketball team, coming off an upset victory over Wilmington Banning in another 4-A semifinal contest Friday. The victory earned the Dolphins (19-7) their first trip to the final and a matchup with Washington at the Sports Arena on Saturday at 1 p.m.

“We’ve been in the shadow of the boys’ program all season, and it’s seemed at times that no one cared,” said Coach Joi Tanita, who is in her third year of rebuilding the program. “But the flip side is that there weren’t a lot of eyes on us, and there wasn’t as much pressure. We’ve prevailed in anonymity.”

The boys’ team finished 24-3 and was in the Cal-Hi state rankings all season. The girls’ team, however, finished second in its league and was seeded 12th in the playoffs. Its three playoff victories were all on the road.

Although Palisades advanced to the quarterfinals last year, expectations weren’t high this season because the team didn’t have any seniors. Tanita started with 11 players but is down to eight--six juniors and two sophomores. The team’s best player, freshman point guard Leilani Estavan, was ruled academically ineligible earlier this month.

“Leilani was the heart and soul of this team,” Tanita said. “I never thought we’d survive her loss.”

The Dolphins’ tallest player is Kelly Sabey, a 5-foot-11 forward, who leads the team in scoring. Several of the players didn’t play basketball before high school.

Practice is often cut short because a few of the players live in the inner-city and must catch the last bus to leave school.

Tanita leaves much of the coaching to her 21-year-old assistant, Kevin Hall, a junior at Cal State Dominguez Hills whose previous coaching experience was with youth traveling teams.

“I think we keep telling ourselves that we’re just happy to be here,” Hall said. “But after every step we take I think we lose that mentality a little bit. Winning isn’t all a fluke after a while.”

Tanita said all her players contribute. She’s avoided bringing up players from the junior varsity and freshman-sophomore team to avoid breaking up the chemistry.

“What we’re doing right now is part luck and part art,” Tanita said. “I don’t dare try to change things. We’ve come this far.”