PaliHi Girls Basketball/Boys Soccer
Advance to Semi-Final Rounds
PaliHi Boys Beat El Camino, 2-1
The Palisades High boys soccer team edged El Camino Real, 2-1 in overtime, on February 13 in the City Section Division I quarterfinals.
It was nice revenge for the Dolphins, who lost to El Camino in last year’s quarterfinals. El Camino proceeded to win the championship and was 2nd-seeded this year behind Birmingham.
Jackson Paige scored both goals on free kicks for the Dolphins.
PaliHi, seeded 10th, has been battling its way out of the playoff cellar. First, it beat Community Charter in the wild-card round, 3-0, on February 6. Then in the first round, the Dolphins upset No. 7 Hawkins on February 11.
Pali advances to play 3rd-seeded San Fernando at 3 p.m. on February 19 at San Fernando It should be a good game because San Fernando lost to El Camino, 1-0, in November. The Tigers’ overall record is 19-3-4 and their leading scorer is junior D. Arteche, with 16 goals, followed by junior D. Garcia with 12 goals.
Palisades’ superior goalie, junior Tommy Meek, who is also PaliHi’s kicker on the football team, should slow the scoring.
Overall, the Dolphins, coached by David Suarez, are 14-2-1 this season and in Western League play they were 9-0-1.
Jane Nwaba (#11) scores two on her way to 22 points for the game.
Girls Beat Poly, Play Semifinals Saturday
The top-seeded Palisades High girls basketball team beat Poly (Sun Valley), 67-41, in the City Section Division 1 quarterfinals on February 13 at home.
After the game, PaliHi coach Adam Levine said: “Poly is a solid team. They are well-coached and played a tough schedule. It’s the hardest we’ve played.”
The game’s top scorer was standout Jane Nwaba, a junior, who had 22 points. Freshman Demoni Lagway had 11 points. The rest of the points were split evenly among seven other players.
Mercy Montgomery scores two on a breakaway.
Levine said, “That’s what we want, it’s a sign of a good team.”
He noted that the majority of his players are freshmen and sophomores. “The future is bright for Pali,” Levine said.
The Dolphins now advance to the semifinals to play 5th-seeded Arleta at Venice High School on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.