Alemany Puts Harvard-Westlake in Its Place, Second

Mission accomplished.

The Mission League girls’ basketball title is back in the hands of a team that had a firm grasp of it until Harvard-Westlake High stole it last season.

Alemany snatched it back on Thursday night, routing the defending champions, 65-36, at Harvard-Westlake.

The Indians clinched a share of their sixth title in seven seasons and marked the first time they have defeated their rival at Harvard-Westlake since 1996.

“What a relief,” said guard Kate Beckler, who had 23 points, seven steals and five rebounds.

“We finally overcame our fear of playing here.”

Any anxiety was lost quickly, when Alemany (19-5, 8-0 in league play) sprinted to a 14-0 lead.

“This was very disappointing,” said guard Brooke Porter of Harvard-Westlake (17-7, 6-2).

“We were flat from the start and they came out ready. You could tell they wanted it.”

Badly.

In the last four years, this has developed into one of the region’s fiercest rivalries.

The teams shared league titles in 1996-97 and 1997-98 before the Wolverines claimed their first outright Mission title last season.

Alemany, which is 5-4 against Harvard-Westlake during that span, might not have seen the last of Harvard-Westlake.

They began the week ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the Southern Section Division III poll and could meet again in the playoffs.

The Wolverines would like nothing better after making only 13 of 56 shots and committing 25 turnovers.

While it was a forgettable night for the home team, Alemany culminated a memorable week during which it defeated its two closest pursuers by a combined 72 points.

Third-place Notre Dame was a 74-31 victim on Tuesday.

Beckler, who has committed to Rice, has received much of the attention, but is only one of many pistons that are firing.

Forward Karina Siam scored 13 points and had seven rebounds.

Senior Julie Mullins came off the bench when Amy Lowe was injured in the first quarter and contributed 14 points.

“People watch us play and think all they have to do is stop Kate but there are a lot of other good players on the court,” Coach Melissa Hearlihy said.

Alma Sandoval, who scored seven points, and Nyasha Bralock played stifling defense against a potent Wolverine team that advanced to the state Division III final last season.

Porter and L’Tanya Robnett, who had combined to average more than 35 points a game, received little help from the rest of the lineup, allowing the Indian defense to swarm.

Robnett finished with 10 points and Porter had nine. They combined for 17 of the Wolverines’ 25 points through three quarters.