Wolverines Are Lonely at the Top

Contrary to appearances, the FBI is not using the Harvard-Westlake High girls’ basketball team in the Federal Witness Protection program.

But it wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Only 573 attended the Wolverines’ 72-50 victory over Fullerton Rosary on Saturday in the Southern Regional Division III final. The 9 a.m. Division V girls’ game, featuring the smallest schools, attracted almost that many fans.

Harvard-Westlake, which arranged for rooter buses when the school’s football team advanced to the Southern Section Division VII final, made no such plans for the regional basketball final.

“We don’t get a lot of support from our school,” senior guard Michelle Ghodsian said. “This [victory] was a statement that we should get more attention, that we deserve it. This was history making.”

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Harvard-Westlake (29-5) will face Lafayette Acalanes (29-4) for the state championship on Saturday at 12:45 p.m. at Arco Arena in Sacramento.

Neither team was supposed to get this far.

The Wolverines, ranked No. 1 in the state in the division throughout the season, were upset by Morningside in the Southern Section III-A final and were seeded third in the regional.

Acalanes, seeded second in the Northern Regional after winning its third consecutive North Coast Section title, upset No. 1 Loomis Del Oro, 37-22, Saturday to advance to the state final.

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Corrie Mizusawa of Acalanes, a junior, is averaging 14.4 points and is considered one of the best point guards in the East Bay area. She scored a career-high 33 points in the Dons’ 48-38 victory over Arcata in the section championship.