Narbonne Is Still City Team to Beat

The girls’ basketball version of last-man standing begins today with first- and wild-card round games in the Los Angeles City and Southern Section playoffs, which culminate in title games on March 3 and 4.

Come state championship weekend, March 17-18, there should be at least three Southern Section teams still on their feet at Arco Arena in Sacramento.

Long Beach Poly, Fullerton Troy and La Puente Bishop Amat are all favorites to win state championships, and Los Angeles Windward is a pretty good bet. But first, they’ll need to get though their respective divisions.

Here’s how the City Section’s Championship division breaks down, followed by the Southern Section’s playoff divisions:

CITY SECTION

2005 champion: Harbor City Narbonne

Top-seeded teams: No. 1 Narbonne, No. 2 Sylmar, No. 3 L.A. King Drew, No. 4 Venice.

Others to watch: No. 6 L.A. Dorsey

Outlook: Dorsey (22-3), with high-scoring guard Erica Inge (23.4 points), should be the second-seeded team, but a season-ending upset at the hands of L.A. Crenshaw shook up the seedings. In the end, though, it should be Morghan Medlock and Narbonne that win a seventh title in 10 years for its departing coach, James Anderson.

DIVISION I-AA

2005 champion: Long Beach Poly.

Top-seeded teams: No. 1 Lynwood, No. 2 Rancho Cucamonga Etiwanda, No. 3 Mira Loma Jurupa Valley, No. 4 Norco.

Others to watch: No. 8 Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos, Long Beach Poly.

Outlook: Poly would have been the top-seeded team if not for 20 forfeits, but it’s by the good graces of the Moore League that the Jackrabbits received an automatic qualifying berth into the playoffs. They’ll probably have to beat five league champions, including Jurupa Valley, to reach the finals for the fifth consecutive season. Legitimate longshot Los Osos can play with anyone on a good night and could meet Lynwood in the quarterfinals. A surprise team could be Corona Santiago.

DIVISION I-A

2005 champion: Moreno Valley Canyon Springs.

Top-seeded teams: No. 1 Ventura, No. 2 Ventura Buena, No. 3 San Bernardino Cajon, No. 4 Newhall Hart.

Others to watch: No. 5 Perris, No. 6 Riverside North, No. 11 Canyon Springs

Outlook: Perris, led by Brandie McCann, would have been a better choice for one of the seeded positions rather than Cajon (25-1), which boasts the Southland’s second-leading scorer Lynette Jacobs (26.0 points a game) but lacks a single marquee victory. Canyon Springs, the third-place team from the Ivy League, is ranked No. 23 in the Southland by The Times and could meet Buena in the quarterfinals.

DIVISION II-AA

2005 champion: Fullerton Troy.

Top-seeded teams: No. 1 Troy, No. 2 Villa Park, No. 3 Redondo, No. 4 Placentia El Dorado.

Others to watch: No. 6 Chino Hills Ayala.

Outlook: Troy has won two state titles in the last three seasons, and this is probably its best team of all. Villa Park has the defense to win the title, but could be in trouble if it allows any team to score more than 45. Though Redondo lacks depth, it has offensive firepower. Ayala’s Rebekah Gardner (28.4 points) leads the Southland in scoring, and the Bulldogs have played well lately.

DIVISION II-A

2005 champion: Redondo.

Top-seeded teams: No. 1 Newbury Park, No. 2 Santa Ana Foothill, No. 3 Irvine Woodbridge, No. 4 South Torrance.

Others to watch: No. 5 Brea Olinda.

Outlook: This is Brea Olinda’s worst season in decades, but the Ladycats could play for another title because every team in the division is vulnerable. Brea, which has won 14 section titles and been to the finals 16 times in the past 20 years, could meet Woodbridge in the quarterfinals. Woodbridge had been the division’s top-ranked team entering the last week of the regular season, and is in the same half of the bracket as Newbury Park. Two .500 teams in the lower half of the bracket will be interesting to watch, Ontario Colony and Orange El Modena.

DIVISION III-AA

2005 champion: Santa Margarita.

Top-seeded teams: No. 1 Santa Margarita, No. 2 Pomona Diamond Ranch, No. 3 Palos Verdes Estates Palos Verdes, No. 4 Anaheim Magnolia.

Others to watch: No. 9 Cerritos Gahr.

Outlook: The biggest challenge to Santa Margarita may be the pressure of being the runaway favorite. The Eagles have already beaten second-seeded Diamond Ranch, 59-43, on Jan. 17.

DIVISION III-A

2005 champion: La Puente Bishop Amat

Top-seeded teams: No. 1 Bishop Amat, No. 2 Santa Ynez, No. 3 Pasadena Muir, No. 4 Fullerton Rosary.

Others to watch: No. 6 Torrance Bishop Montgomery.

Outlook: Bishop Amat is the defending state champion and, behind Juanise Cornell, Kristen McCarthy and Candice Brown, shouldn’t be challenged. Santa Ynez is 26-0 but lacks a signature victory. Bishop Montgomery, led by Kendra Morris, has come on strong in the second half of the season, including a victory over Windward, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Knights reach the finals for the sixth time in seven seasons.

DIVISION IV-AA

2005 champion: L.A. Marlborough.

Top-seeded teams: No. 1 Marlborough, No. 2 Westlake Village Oaks Christian, No. 3 Santa Maria St. Joseph, No. 4 L.A. Marymount.

Others to watch: None.

Outlook: Marlborough should win easily as long as Abi Olajuwan is in the lineup.

DIVISION IV-A

2005 champion: L.A. Brentwood.

Top-seeded teams: No. 1 L.A. Windward, No. 2 Brentwood, No. 3 Newport Beach Sage Hill, No. 4 Van Nuys Montclair Prep.

Others to watch: No. 5 Redlands Arrowhead Christian.

Outlook: Windward, with USC-bound Hailey Dunham and UCLA-bound Erica Latimer, is the class of the division and already has a victory over second-seeded Brentwood, 62-42.

DIVISION V-AA

2005 champion: Los Angeles Pacific Hills.

Top-seeded teams: No. 1 Pacific Hills, No. 2 Palos Verdes Estates Rolling Hills Prep, No. 3 Calimesa Mesa Grande, No. 4 Ridgecrest Immanuel Christian.

Others to watch: None.

Outlook: Pacific Hills lost three players from last year’s championship team, but its three top scorers this season are freshmen.

DIVISION V-A

2005 champion: Santa Maria Valley Christian.

Top-seeded teams: No. 1 Santa Maria Valley Christian, No. 2 Huntington Beach Liberty Christian, No. 3 Hemet Baptist Christian, No. 4 Arcadia Rio Hondo Prep.

Others to watch: None.

Outlook: Lara Hertzog (25.3 points) returns, along with most of her teammates from last season’s Valley Christian championship team.