Narbonne Recovers for Rout

Harbor City Narbonne found itself in an unfamiliar situation Saturday night against Hanford.

The Lady Gauchos, the top-ranked girls’ basketball team in the nation by USA Today, trailed at halftime for only the second time this season.

But Narbonne opened the second half with a 10-0 run and never looked back en route to a 69-40 victory in the Southern California regional final of the state tournament at the Great Western Forum.

Narbonne (33-0) will play Berkeley for the state championship next Saturday at Arco Arena in Sacramento.

In December, Narbonne had been behind by five points against Copper Cove (Texas), before coming back to win.

On Saturday, Hanford, with three starters taller than 6 feet, led, 23-22, at halftime.

“I think [Hanford] could see that we were going to make a run,” said Narbonne guard Loree Moore, who scored 19 points and had 10 assists and six steals.

Narbonne forced five turnovers in the first three minutes of the second half and took a nine-point lead on baskets by Amber Pruitt, Moore and Latasha O’Keith and four free throws by Ebony Hoffman.

The Lady Gauchos kept the pressure on and raced to a 48-32 lead by the end of the third quarter.

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In other regional finals:

DIVISION II

Brea Olinda 52, Redondo Union 44--Senior center Chelsea Trotter scored 28 points and had 18 rebounds at the Forum as the defending state-champion Ladycats avenged a defeat against Redondo Union to win their ninth regional title.

Brea (28-6) will play Pleasanton Amador Valley in the state championship game Friday in Sacramento.

Redondo Union (28-6) had defeated Brea by 11 points last week in the Southern Section II-AA final, ending the Ladycats’ streak of 11 consecutive section titles.

Trotter, who scored 17 points and had 17 rebounds Thursday against Santana, scored eight points during the fourth quarter against Redondo Union, helping Brea overcome a 34-32 deficit to take a 40-34 lead with about 5:30 left.

Stephanie Wong led Redondo Union with 14 points.

DIVISION III

Torrance Bishop Montgomery 88, San Diego Kearny 72--Sophomore guard Brittney Thomas scored 23 points and freshman center Lauren Ervin scored 22 and had 18 rebounds at the Forum to lead the Knights (28-3) to their fourth regional title.

Bishop Montgomery will play Petaluma next Saturday in the state final.

Bishop Montgomery led Kerney (18-14) by 13 points at the end of the first quarter and 42-18 at halftime.

Freshman guard Noelle Quinn added 16 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists for Bishop Montgomery.

DIVISION IV

Playa del Rey St. Bernard 67, La Jolla Bishop’s 46--Liesl Griffin scored six points as the Vikings outscored the Knights, 17-6, in the decisive third quarter at the Pyramid.

St. Bernard (26-5) turned a 29-24 halftime lead into a 46-30 advantage by the end of the third quarter.

Shannon Howell had 21 points and Alexis Kendricks added 13 points as the second-seeded Vikings advanced to the state final for the third time in four seasons.

Kirsten Grimm had 13 points for top-seeded Bishop’s (28-2).

DIVISION V

Solana Beach Santa Fe Christian 57, Pilgrim 41--Junior guard Brandi Collato set regional championship game records by scoring 39 points and making 20 of 21 free throws for Santa Fe Christian at the Pyramid.

The San Diego Section champion Eagles (28-5) advanced to their first state final and will play Redwood Christian.

Amber Cunningham had 16 points for second-seeded Pilgrim (29-2).

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Correspondent Steven Herbert contributed to this story.