Narbonne Reaches State Championship Game

Harbor City Narbonne and Palos Verdes Peninsula are located less than 10 miles apart, but it took a game in the Southern California regional final of the state tournament to bring these girls’ basketball teams onto the same court for the first time.

Narbonne made the most of its opportunity against the perennially powerful Panthers with a 58-41 victory before 2,500 Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion.

Narbonne (28-4) advances to the Division I state championship game next Saturday at Arco Arena in Sacramento. The Gauchos will play Berkeley (29-3), a 62-42 winner over San Jose Archbishop Mitty.

Narbonne’s victory over Peninsula helped the 4-A City Section champion Gauchos erase memories of last year’s regional final loss to eventual state champion Crenshaw.

“We knew they were good and that we had to come out and play well from the start,” said Narbonne guard Latasha O’Keith, who scored seven points.

Forward Ebony Hoffman scored 17 points and guard Loree Moore added 12 for Narbonne, which defeated Long Beach Wilson, Huntington Beach Marina and Peninsula en route to the state final.

Peninsula (30-4), the 1992 state champion, trailed, 13-2, at the end of the first quarter after missing all eight of its field-goal attempts. The Panthers did not make their first shot until Tiffany King banked in an attempt off a drive with 6:56 left in the first half.

Peninsula fought its way back to within 18-16 on a basket by Lauryn Morita with 2:30 left in the half, but the Panthers never drew even. Narbonne extended a 24-18 halftime lead to a 58-41 advantage by the end of the third quarter and cruised to the victory.

Center Natalie Kelly scored 15 points for Peninsula, the Southern Section Division I-AA champion, which beat Palisades and San Clemente to advance to the regional final.