Wolverines, Aiming High, Win, 83-53

Throughout the summer and into the school year, the Harvard-Westlake High girls’ basketball team drew inspiration from above: the 1995-96 and ‘96-97 state championship banners won by the school’s boys’ team.

“They had two banners and there was nothing up there representing the girls,” junior forward Omelogo Udeze said.

With that kind of tradition hanging over them, and a lot of momentum behind them, the Wolverines are putting together a banner year of their own.

They routed San Diego University, 83-53, on Tuesday night in the opening round of the Southern Regional Division III playoffs at Harvard-Westlake.

Harvard-Westlake (27-5) will hoist its first girls’ basketball state banner if it can hang around for three more victories.

The Wolverines will host Inglewood Morningside on Thursday in the regional semifinal.

Harvard-Westlake beat Morningside, 45-41, on Friday in the Southern Section III-A final.

The regional final will be played on Saturday at the Pyramid in Long Beach and the state championship will be contested either March 20 or 21 at the Arco Arena in Sacramento.

Before the season, Coach Brian Taylor challenged the Wolverines, who had won only one postseason game in their history, to set lofty goals.

“We’ve already accomplished two of the three,” said sophomore L’Tanya Robnett of the Wolverines’ Mission League co-championship and Southern Section Division III-A title. “Now we want the third.”

Taylor isn’t ready to address a possible state title just yet, not with two games separating Harvard-Westlake and a trip to Sacramento.

“That’s just one [state playoff game] out of the way,” he said. “Now we can think about the next one. We don’t want to overlook anything.”

The Wolverines, who won their eighth consecutive game since losing to Mission League co-champion Alemany, 73-53, on Feb. 6, came out focused.

The Wolverines, who made only 36% of their shots in the victory over Morningside, built a 16-2 lead and made 18 of 35 shots to take a 40-26 halftime lead.

Harvard-Westlake made 45% of its shots (34 for 75) in the game.

Udeze and guard Corrie Roberts, who struggled in the last two games, combined for 37 points against the Dons (13-12).

Roberts scored 20 points, including 18 in the first half, when she made eight of nine shots.

Udeze had 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Sophomore guard Brooke Porter had 13 points, 11 assists and four steals, while Rolake Bamgbose added nine points and 10 rebounds.