Girls’ basketball: Long Beach Poly wins Southern Section Open Division championship

The Long Beach Poly girls basketball team overcame a sluggish first-half start to defeat Harvard-Westlake, 68-52, in the Southern Section Open Division championship Saturday night at Honda Center.

The Jackrabbits (25-3) were paced by Ayanna Clark, who led all scorers with 20 points. Jasmine Jones added 14 points, while Danae Miller pitched in 12.

Harvard-Westlake (25-4) outscored the Jackrabbits, 23-16, in the second quarter to take a 35-32 advantage into the halftime break.

Poly responded with a big quarter of its own, winning the third by eight points to take a 48-43 lead into the fourth.

The Jackrabbits dominated in the fourth quarter to earn the 16-point victory.

Harvard-Westlake reached the title game with a seemingly improbable run, which included upsets over Mater Dei in the first round and second-seeded Etiwanda in the semifinals.

The Wolverines were led by Jayla Ruffus-Milner, who scored a team-high 16 points. Justine Barraza added 12.