Narbonne, Lynwood Are Tops, but Pack Is Gaining

When Harbor City Narbonne won the City Championship last season, it barely did so over Sylmar, 41-40. That raised some eyebrows.

Narbonne later needed overtime at home to beat San Clemente, 53-52. And Narbonne led Lynwood at halftime in the Southern California Regional championship before self-destructing in a 54-46 loss.

Sylmar, San Clemente and several other schools should be good enough this season to challenge Narbonne -- and Lynwood -- for Southland supremacy in both rankings and respective championships.

Though Lynwood and Narbonne are favorites in the Southern and City sections, there’s actually a question about which team is best.

“It’s an almost even playing field,” said Narbonne Coach James Anderson, whose team begins this season ranked No. 2 by The Times. “You have more teams vying for [No. 1], not just us and Lynwood. To me, that’s a good thing.”

Anderson says lack of depth is the reason Narbonne and top-ranked Lynwood are coming back to the pack.

Lynwood is strengthened by the return of all-everything Sade Wiley-Gatewood, though she spent the first part of the school year being home-schooled and didn’t work out with the team.

However, the Knights are without one of the key returning players from last year’s state title run. Lorie Rayford, a 5-foot-11 senior forward who averaged 14.5 points and 11.5 rebounds against Lynwood’s national schedule, transferred to Inglewood Morningside, making it a threat to win a state title in Division III.

Wiley-Gatewood , who has committed to Tennessee, is one of the best players in the country and is coming off a season in which she averaged 24.5 points and 7.5 rebounds, but “Rayford makes a big difference,” Anderson said. “Sade [returning] helps them, but she doesn’t give Lynwood an edge. Plus they lost seven seniors.”

And that means the best team in the Southland at any given time could be any of several. It could be Long Beach Poly, with its swarming defense. Or San Clemente, with its dominant inside game. Even Long Beach Wilson, with its fast team.

A quick look around the Southland:

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Three players to watch:

* Lindsey Pluimer, San Clemente. Could there be any correlation between Pluimer, a 6-3 senior forward, and the Tritons (28-4) going for a fourth consecutive Southern Section title? Do averages of 21.8 points, 10 rebounds and 4.3 blocks last season have any relevance? Probably.

* Erika Arriaran, Norco. The guard was one of the top players in the section as a freshman, but was home-schooled last season and didn’t play -- at least not in high school. She did sharpen her skills in men’s leagues, though, and should be a dominant player for the Cougars, who have all five returning starters from last season’s 18-9 squad.

* Nykia Peace, Torrance Bishop Montgomery. She played in the shadow of Noelle Quinn, and now Peace, a 5-9 guard who averaged 18 points in a complementary role, is the leader of the four-time defending state champion Knights (29-7).

Three teams to watch:

* Etiwanda. The Eagles (26-6) came in with high expectations a season ago, but lost point guard Brittani Smith and Sahfia Brown, who averaged 27 points between them as sophomores, by Game 2. Despite Alexis Crimes (6-4) committing her time to volleyball instead of basketball, Etiwanda still has Baseline League most valuable player Aujanee Baldwin, who averaged 17 points, and more high expectations.

* Fullerton Rosary. Four starters, including senior guard Cara Enright, return. The Royals (21-9) are basically 5-10 guards who outwork everyone they play and have a tendency to be ahead of the curve early in the season.

* Long Beach Wilson. The Bruins (24-7) can’t seem to get over the hump in the same league that has Long Beach Poly -- which has won 36 consecutive Moore League games -- but five starters are back, including junior Neka Mixon and Long Beach State-bound Jeannie Saunders, and they could be the fifth-best team in the Southland, but No. 2 in league.

Three transfers that matter:

* April Phillips, Long Beach Poly. The Jackrabbits (29-4) already had scorer Judith Smith, who was the spike in a defense that was tough as nails. Phillips will add scoring presence on a team that’s quick and hard-working, and could give Poly the edge it needs to take down Lynwood.

* Taylor Lilley, Newhall Hart. As a freshman at Saugus, Lilley averaged 15.6 points. At Hart (24-7), the 5-6 guard’s shooting touch will prevent opponents from double-teaming point guard Ashlee Trebilcock, who averaged 19.4 points.

* Neabors sisters, Fullerton Troy. The Division II state champion Warriors (31-2) have six of their top seven players coming back, and were bolstered depth-wise by sophomore twins Rheya Neabors and Rhaya Neabors, both 6-1, who came from Chino Hills Ayala. They can play forward or center, and should help offset the loss of Amanda Livingston to UCLA.