HIGH SCHOOL NOTEBOOK

It was a foregone conclusion that Buena would face Narbonne in the Southern Regional Division I girls’ playoffs.

The only surprise was that it happened on Thursday night, not tonight at the Great Western Forum.

Buena’s loss to Fullerton Troy last week in the Southern Section Division I-A final cost the Bulldogs a No. 1 seeding in the regional and forced them to play at Narbonne in a semifinal.

Narbonne (26-3), ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today, and No. 6 Buena (29-2) were evenly matched in two meetings this season, the deciding factor in each being home-court advantage.

On Feb. 3, Buena defeated the defending national champions, 71-61, in Ventura. On Thursday, the Gauchos won, 56-51, at Narbonne.

Buena had hoped Thursday’s game would be moved to a neutral site because Narbonne’s gym could not meet the state-mandated 1,800 capacity for a Division I regional.

Narbonne solved that problem by cramming 1,800 students into the gym during a pep rally earlier this week to prove it could.

“Let’s just say it wasn’t comfortable, but we did it,” said Narbonne Coach James Anderson, whose team meets Lynwood tonight for the regional championship.

With an overflow crowd in the tiny gym, the heat became almost unbearable for the participants.

“This is the hottest gym I’ve ever played in,” said junior forward Courtney LaVere of Buena. “We were all drenched.”

One referee said afterward that he couldn’t remember ever sweating more.

Don’t blame that on Narbonne, Anderson said.

“There’s no heater or air conditioning in here,” he said. “It’s a City [Section] gym.”

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Courtney Young and Kelly Greathouse of Buena finished their careers as the top-scoring tandem in region history.

Young, who has committed to Tennessee, scored 2,096 points in four seasons, two at Santa Monica Crossroads.

Greathouse, bound for North Carolina State, finished with 1,969 points and 1,178 rebounds, both school records.