Tradition Emphasized in Girls’ Playoff Pairings

Traditional powers were awarded top-seeded spots in their respective divisions by the Southern Section Monday when the girls’ high school basketball playoff pairings were announced.

Ventura Buena, Palmdale, Pasadena Muir and Santa Ynez were seeded No. 1 in their divisions. There was one relative newcomer, Harvard-Westlake of North Hollywood, which was seeded No. 4 in Division III-A after finishing as co-champion of the Mission League.

The Harvard-Westlake boys’ team, with 6-foot-10 identical twins Jason and Jarron Collins, is ranked No. 1 in the state but the Lady Wolverines made a name for themselves when they upset three-time defending Mission League champion Alemany on Feb. 6.

Harvard-Westlake, which had never finished better than fourth, ended Alemany’s 18-game overall winning streak and 43-game conference winning streak.

The team is coached by Brian Taylor, in his first year. Orlando Woolridge, the former Laker, is his assistant.

Harvard-Westlake begins the playoffs Thursday as host to Costa Mesa Estancia.

The section seeds teams based on league records and not overall strength of schedule, and the results were predictable.

Palmdale, Golden League champions, drew the top spot in Division I-AA.

Other top-seeded teams are Buena in Division I-A, Laguna Hills in Division II-AA, Brea-Olinda in II-A, Muir in III-AA, Torrance Bishop Montgomery in III-A, Santa Ynez in IV-AA, Cerritos Valley Christian in IV-A, Covina Western Christian in V-AA, and Camarillo Cornerstone Christian in V-A.

The wild-card round will be played Thursday. First-round games begin Thursday in divisions without wild-card games and Saturday in all other divisions. Finals will be played March 7 and 8 at the Long Beach Pyramid.

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The Southern Section also announced soccer pairings Monday.

Palos Verdes Peninsula was seeded first in the boys’ Division I and Upland was No. 1 in the girls’ Division I.

Other top-seeded boys’ teams are Santa Ana Mater Dei in Division II, Cathedral City in III, Riverside Notre Dame in IV, and Palos Verdes Chadwick in V.

Other top-seeded girls’ teams are Santa Margarita of Rancho Santa Margarita in Division II, Harvard-Westlake in III, and Ontario Christian in IV.