Carson, CA – The Los Angeles City Section knows how to put on a showcase of their talent. The packed gymnasium saw 2016 Kings of the court the Westchester Comets defeat the Narbonne Gauchos 51-42 in the Open Division. While the Queens of the court the Palisades Dolphins defeated the El Camino Real Conquistadors 65-44 to win Back-2-Back Open division champions.
The current active winningest coach in the city Ed Azzam had Westchester ready with a great game plan. Be consistent, play hard, play a full game hard.
The Kings of court have had this game plan, it works more often than not being #10 ranked team in California coming into this game. Keith Fisher (#12) scored 14 points for the Comets holding down middle. Narbonne crashed down hard on Fisher most of the game making it frustrating at times. Evan Council (#0) 9 points made his presence felt.
Narbonne not normally a basketball powerhouse has been on the rise the last few years. They were able to knock off Fairfax the week before setting up the opportunity to a championship. Without a true starting center they played four guard set most off the game to utilize their athleticism. The two senior guards led the team in scoring Jamal Hicks (#1) 12 points, and D’mauria Jones (#0) 11 points.
The Queens of the court Palisades put so much pressure on El Camino Real midway through the first period after little slow start. They trailed ECR 12-7 before applying the full court press. The press was just too much to handle, Palisades when on a 25 – 0 run and the 32-12 lead at the half.
The slow start didn’t shake the defending champions confidence. They played true team ball making sure the ball went all over the court. Guard Chelsey Gipson made some great choices with her ball movement while still dropping 15 points for the game, 9 points in the first half. Fellow guard Kayla Merrill-Gillett matching her jersey number 23 in points. The second half she found her rhythm from behind the arc and wherever she wanted to drop a shot.
This game followed the old saying defense wins championships! Dolphins head coach Torino Johnson lead his team to 12 -0 league record this season and will be primed to go deep in the State playoffs next week after winning the city.
Both the Kings and Queens of the court will have a great seeding for their own quest to win a state championship.
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