Palisades Takes Care of Washington, 79-36

Palisades took care of its first order of business Friday night at Pauley Pavilion, routing Washington, 79-36, in the City Section girls’ basketball championship game.

It was the first City title for the Dolphins (26-4), who have their sights clearly set on their first state title as well.

“This is just a step,” said Palisades’ Nicole Funn, an Oregon State-bound senior forward who scored a game-high 29 points. “Our final goal is state. We know we can be there.”

Friday’s victory was no surprise for Palisades.

With Harbor City Narbonne ineligible to compete in the playoffs because of rules violations last season, Palisades, ranked fourth in the state, entered the playoffs as the top-seeded team.

Palisades lost in last year’s final to Narbonne, which was on probation throughout the 1997-98 season for recruiting violations pertaining to illegal contact with players at other schools. Narbonne went on to win the state Division I championship before both the City and state titles were stripped for further violations.

Palisades also won this year’s title while on probation for making illegal contact with players at other schools.

The Dolphins defeated Van Nuys Birmingham, Venice and North Hollywood to reach the final, never winning by less than 29 points.

Palisades dominated from the outset against Washington, forcing the Generals to come out of their zone defense with good outside shooting.

“I was ready to play--and I have been for a week,” said Palisades point guard Leilani Estavan, another Palisades senior bound for Oregon State who finished with 20 points and made four of five three-point shots. “My team just followed my lead.”

The Dolphins had a 22-13 lead by the end of the first quarter. The margin increased to 40-18 by halftime as Funn and Estavan scored 18 and 12 points, respectively.

Meanwhile, Washington (21-6) struggled to find its range.

“A lot of us didn’t get off to a good start,” said Washington junior Shanell Law, who scored 12 points. “We made a lot of mistakes and they capitalized.”

Palisades led, 57-30, at the end of three quarters on its way to the 43-point final margin.

Junior guard April Freeney added 12 points and junior center Melissa Henderson had six for Palisades, which will host a first-round game in the Southern California regional of the state tournament Tuesday.

“We’ve worked really hard for three years to win a championship,” Funn said. “We’re going to enjoy it this weekend and then get back to work for the state tournament.”

Washington’s Pepper Gooden shared team-high scoring honors with Law with 12 points.