Saturday's matchup of Washington, tops in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area City Section's Marine League, and Lynwood, first in the Southern Section's San Gabriel Valley League, came together last year after the two teams played each other during the summer. Washington Athletic Director Kim Bly said she and her staff had the idea, and Lynwood coach Ellis Barfield agreed.
Such events have become annual traditions for many collegiate and WNBA programs, and now the trend is beginning to take hold in high schools as well. With the January 24 death of North Carolina State Coach Kay Yow who was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and battled the disease for many years before finally succumbing to it last week, Saturday's game carried much more significance, Bly said.
Participants from both teams at this weekend’s game wore pink socks, and host team Washington wore specially made pink T-shirts with their school mascot on the front. Prior to the game, a school community breast cancer survivor was honored in a ceremony and proceeds from the ticket sales were donated to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.
While the game didn’t count for purposes of deciding the teams’ standings, both squads came ready to play in a game that went down to the wire. Kejuana Gardner, a talented 5’11” junior who plays the wing, got Washington off to a fast start with an immediate basket. Shaylese Shofner, Lynwood’s 6’3” post and a senior, answered for the Knights, and then teammate Jasmin Jennings, a 5’8” senior guard, stole the ball from General Jerronisha Green, laying it up and in.
Sophomore post Reshanda Gray (6’2”) responded with a bucket for Washington, and Gardner got hot on assists, dishing one to Gray and one to 5’10” junior Kiana Furlow. Prep was ahead, 15-10, at the end of the first stanza.
The Generals went on a run with over five minutes to go in the second period, primarily lead by the high-scoring Taylor Gipson, a 5’8” junior guard, who drove to the basket as well as making her outside shots. At 3:17, Washington was ahead, 28-16, but then Lynwood made a run, scoring eight unanswered points in two minutes.
Jennings hit a three for the Knights, but Gardner ate up a lot of time off the clock on the last possession of the half before dishing to Green for the bucket. The Generals led, 30-27, going into the locker room.
Washington continued to lead, 44-36, at the end of three quarters, but Lynwood came into the last period blazing. A back-door play, a long three-shot by Jennings and a jumper by 5’9” junior guard Tyonna Outland cut Washington's lead to 46-43 at about the six-minute mark.
Gardner and Gipson dug in for Washington’s Generals, each driving to the basket, drawing the foul, and then making their shots. But the Knights also hung tough under the hoop and continued to score.
One of the evening's highlight plays came with less than three minutes to go, when Gardner dished to Gray. With her right side toward the basket, Gray flung up a sideways layup that went in cleanly, putting Washington up 55-47.
Several fouls by the Generals helped the Knights get back within four with under a minute to play. But after Outland missed a three-point shot and Washington rebounded, the Knights were forced to foul with 14.5 seconds left, the score 55-52. Gipson made one free throw, and Outland had one more chance to make it a one-possession game, but she missed her jumper.
Gipson lead Washington with 18 points, while Gray had 16 points and 10 boards. Gardner added 13 points, seven steals, five rebounds and three assists.
For Lynwood, Outland had 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and six steals, while Jennings scored 12 points and had four steals.
"We were very happy about the win," Washington assistant coach Porchia Brown said. "We played hard, and we kept pressing and pressing."
Lynwood has been a girl's basketball power for years, fielding strong teams and going to the playoffs annually. A spokeswoman for the team said both Outland, a junior, and Jennings, a senior, have received interest from several Division I schools, and that Jennings is currently trying to decide on a school for the late signing period in April.
The Generals were city champion runners-up in 2007, and made it to the first round of the state playoffs each of the last two years. Most thought they'd have a rough time this year after graduating eight seniors last spring. Instead, they haven't missed a beat.
Currently Washington is 19-3 and is expected by many not only to win their league title but to challenge favorite Chatsworth for the city championship in about a month. The team's athleticism often makes their opponents look slow, and the Generals' skill level has finally begun to catch up. In January, they were Fairfax/LA City Showcase champions.
Two big reasons for Washington's success lies with one old-timer and one newcomer.
Gardner, who with Gipson and Furlow are the lone returnees, was a freshman sensation on the team two years ago. Now as a junior, she has stepped up to lead the Generals by filling many roles.
With no true point guard, Washington Coach Ricky Blackmon alternates point guard duties, but it is often Gardner who brings the ball up the court. Once she gets rid of it, she is often immediately out to the wing or flashing under the basket.
Gardner is quick, has a variety of skills and possesses great court vision. The result is she is not a one-column stat player. Gardner leads her team in both points per game and steals, and is second in rebounding. And predictably, colleges are coming calling.
Reshanda Gray, a sophomore, was part of a Washington squad that won the JV City Championship last year. She has become a force under the basket this season, getting at least one, and often two double-doubles per week in points and rebounds. The 6-foot-2 Gray, nicknamed "Too Tall" by parents and peers alike, brings down rebounds forcefully, chinning the ball while opponents fall away.
The Generals, who have lacked tall players in the past, may finally have an answer for Chatsworth's Gennifer Brandon in Gray - if that matchup does occur.
"We're taking it one game at a time," Brown said.