Narbonne Rolls to Another Title

Harbor City Narbonne did not spend much time relishing its second consecutive City Section girls’ basketball title Saturday.

The Lady Gauchos defeated Westchester, 67-50, at the Forum, then immediately began thinking about defending their state Division I title.

“We’re good, but we still need to work on a couple of things,” said Narbonne guard Loree Moore, who scored 16 points. “We’re going to have to play better than we did tonight when we get into the state tournament.”

Westchester (20-8) was not regarded as much of a threat to a program that has become a national power, but the Comets played without fear at the outset and led, 18-17, at the end of the first quarter.

Narbonne (24-3) went ahead, 25-18, early in the second quarter, but Westchester pulled to within 26-23 on a three-point basket by Romeka Randolph.

At that point, however, Narbonne took over and outscored the Comets, 13-1, on its way to a 39-24 halftime lead.

“Once we got up a little bit, we started to get a little overconfident,” said Westchester guard Shayna Stanley, who scored 19 points.

Narbonne was able to take control in the second quarter after Westchester center Kim Gipson, a 6-foot-4 senior who will attend USC, picked up her third foul.

“[Narbonne] started pounding the ball inside and crashing the boards,” Westchester Coach Bo Corona said. “We just had a bad second quarter.”

Narbonne increased its lead to 51-29 at the end of the third quarter and was never threatened in the fourth.

Wilnett Crockett scored 11 points, Indi Johnson 10 and Jamie Funn eight for the Lady Gauchos.

Randolph scored 10 points and Gipson nine for Westchester.

Narbonne’s 17-point victory was much closer than its playoff wins over North Hills Monroe, Washington and Woodland Hills Taft. The Lady Gauchos’ average margin of victory in those games was 50 points.

“[Westchester] played with a sense of urgency,” Narbonne Coach James Anderson said. “We have to start playing with that.”