Olajuwon Heals From Knee Injury

When top-seeded Los Angeles Marlborough takes the court on Saturday for its second-round game in the Southern Section Division IV-AA girls’ basketball playoffs, Abi Olajuwon will be in uniform but on the bench.

Coach Trenton Jackson hopes to save Olajuwon, a Oklahoma-bound 6-foot-3 center, as long as he can as she rehabilitates her knee, which was injured when she was hit by a student driver in the campus driveway last month.

“Abi has this attitude, ‘If we’re behind, I’m playing, because I don’t want to lose,’ ” Jackson said. “She has that warrior mentality. The plan is to not be behind.”

After receiving a first-round bye on Thursday, Marlborough will play host to the Sun Valley Village Christian-Rosamond winner.

Olajuwon was on her way to the team bus for a game at Alhambra Ramona Convent on Jan. 24 when she stepped into the campus driveway. After being struck, she rolled to the ground, but got up under her own power, and even attended the game that night.

“It was a bruise on the inner left knee, a minor tear,” Jackson said of the injury to the daughter of former NBA great Hakeem Olajuwon. “She could play Saturday, but there’s no need to rush it. But she’s ready to go right now.”

Until Olajuwon returns to the lineup, the top-seeded Mustangs will rely on two guards, sophomore Nikki Speed and junior Lindsay Louie, and 6-2 freshman center Talia Caldwell.

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Martin Henderson

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Boys’ Basketball

L.A. Jordan, seeded No. 5 in the City Section Championship Division playoffs, has lost two starters, guard Jonathan Francis and 6-foot-7 Carthel McDonald, because of academic eligibility.

Two other reserve players were declared ineligible for tonight’s playoff opener against L.A. King-Drew.

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Junior Daniel Hackett’s back is not 100%, but he hit the mark at the free-throw line Wednesday night in a Southern Section Division II-A wild-card game.

Hackett, a 6-foot-5 junior shooting guard for Bellflower St. John Bosco, made all 18 free-throw attempts and finished with 26 points in a 57-45 victory over host La Habra Sonora, setting up a first-round game tonight at Irvine University.

“That was the result of a lot of hard work over the summer,” Hackett said of his free-throw shooting.

Hackett, who committed to USC earlier this season, has been on a tear since returning from a back injury that forced him to miss every game in January.

He scored 34 points in an 82-64 loss to Santa Ana Mater Dei and produced 32 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 56-53 loss to Santa Margarita last week. The Braves finished 0-6 in Serra League play but recorded enough overall victories to earn an at-large berth into the playoffs.

Dan Arritt

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Wrestling

The Southern Section individual championships will take place this weekend at six Southland high schools.

Competition begins at noon today in the Southern Division at Westminster, the Central Division at Brea Olinda, the Inland Division at Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos, the Coastal Division at Huntington Beach Marina, the Northern Division at Moreno Valley Canyon Springs and the Eastern Division at La Quinta. It continues at noon on Saturday with the weight-class finals beginning at 5 p.m.

The City Section dual-meet championships will take place Saturday at Lake Balboa Birmingham, where San Fernando (18-0) is the top-seeded team. Bell is the defending champion of the tournament, which begins at 9:30 a.m. Championship matches will begin at 4:30 p.m.