Regional Final Is the No. 1 Priority

The last game of the season determines the state champion, but the girls’ basketball game creating the season’s biggest buzz takes place tonight at Long Beach Arena, not a week from now in Sacramento.

Lynwood and Harbor City Narbonne take the floor in the Southern California Regional Division I final to settle an issue that has lingered all season: Who’s No. 1?

“For us, this is the game of the year,” said Lynwood senior Janice Bright, a guard who will play next season at Nebraska. “We’re No. 1, and they think they can still be No. 1.

“We worked real hard to get where we are. [Narbonne] always had the big name and we never really got any credit, and now we’re the team to beat.... But we’re not going to lose.”

With a victory, Narbonne (27-3) has a chance to win a third consecutive state title. Lynwood (31-0), if it wins the next two weekends, has a chance to win a mythical national title--which Narbonne won the last two seasons.

“You don’t see that type of talent in one place very often,” said Terri Bamford, coach of La Jolla Country Day, one of the teams’ three common opponents, along with Long Beach Poly and Lakewood Artesia. “Both teams are from L.A., both are rivals, both are so talented.... There’s no way the state title game can match the regional game.”

Lynwood and Narbonne are Nos. 1 and 2 among all schools in the most recent state rankings and Nos. 1 and 6 in the nation. The Northern finalists, San Jose Archbishop Mitty (26-6) and Sacramento Kennedy (30-4), were nowhere to be seen in the state rankings until this week, when Archbishop Mitty appeared at No. 16 and Kennedy at No. 20. Both Southern finalists are confident, for sure.

“[Coach James Anderson] told us you can only play off heart and emotion for so long, and the team with the most talent will win,” said Narbonne guard Lisa Willis, who will play next season at UCLA. “And I’m telling you, we have the most talent, so we will win.

“Lynwood is very good, but I feel they cannot match up with us. If we play how we’re supposed to play, it shouldn’t be a very close game. I’m not saying we’ll beat them by 40, but there won’t be a lot of timeouts called in the last two minutes.”

For Narbonne to win, post players Willnett Crockett (6-2, senior), Indi Johnson (6-2, junior), Amber Pruitt (6-0, senior) and Jamie Funn (6-2, junior) must get an opportunity to exploit their size advantage inside, and that probably won’t happen unless sophomore point guard Camille LeNoir has a good game handling the ball. If LeNoir gets an early basket, it will also help her confidence and her defense, and when LeNoir is comfortable, it helps Willis get into the game.

For Lynwood to win, it must play an up tempo game, create turnovers and score in transition.

“They must tire out Narbonne,” Artesia Coach Scott Roczey said. “I think Lynwood is better conditioned.”

Lynwood also won’t give up. The Knights trailed Artesia by 13 with three minutes remaining before rallying for a 70-68 victory in overtime, and Narbonne has, at times, been lethargic.

If officiating plays a role, Narbonne may be better able to withstand foul trouble.

“If [guards] Sade Wiley-Gatwood or Janice Bright get in trouble, Lynwood’s going to be hurting,” Roczey said, “but if Narbonne’s posts get in trouble, they have two or three others they can bring in.”

Last season, Lynwood was 28-2 and looked unbeatable going into its game against Narbonne in the regional final, which it lost, 67-41.

“Do I think Lynwood can beat them? Yes,” Poly Coach Carl Buggs said. “If Lynwood’s hitting their outside shots early.... [But] if both teams are playing at their best, I have to give the edge to Narbonne just because of size. That size is something else. You don’t get many second opportunities.”

Not until next year, anyway.