Uni Girls on Verge of City Basketball Crown

The University High School girls basketball team could just as well be nicknamed the "Huskers," because so far its storybook season has been as remarkable as that of the rural Indiana team once depicted in the hit movie Hoosiers. 

Playing Gene Hackman's role as Coach Norman Dale is Jim Nakabara, who took over the program from two-year coach Janine Bianchi and now has the Wildcats on the verge of the Los Angeles City Section Division III championship. Back in 1986, Nakabara piloted the University boys squad to the City 3A Division finals and he is hoping that his second championship game appearance will produce a title.

Sixth-seeded University (16-9) will meet ninth-seeded Marshall (19-9) in the finals Saturday at 1 p.m. at Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Barristers finished second in the Northern League and pulled off three upsets on their way to the finals, knocking off No. 8 Locke, No. 1 Gardena and fifth-seeded Cleveland--all on the road. The Wildcats earned their spot in the championship game with victories over 11th-seeded South East, No. 3 Kennedy and No. 7 Bell. 

The Wildcats finished fourth in the tough Western League at 6-6 and the three teams ahead of them all participate in higher playoff brackets. Western League winner Palisades plays for the Division II championship Friday night against Monroe, second-place Fairfax plays Narbonne for the Division I title Saturday night and third-place Westchester lost to Monroe in the Division II semifinals. 

If head-to-head matchups mean anything, University should have the edge on Saturday because the Wildcats defeated Marshall 54-39 at the Fairfax L.A. City Showcase in January. They also beat Bell twice and the Eagles beat Marshall in a nonleague game. However, the Barristers are coming off a 49-39 victory over Cleveland, which beat University 45-43 in December. University and Marshall both have wins against Lincoln and LACES.

University enters the finals averaging 47.1 points per game, led by 5-9 senior post player Myangel Johnson, who averages 17.9 points and 16.7 rebounds and one block. Junior guard Brittany Martin averages 8.7 points and freshman forward Precious Nwaba (sister of former Wildcats All-City player David Nwaba and current junior guard Victor Nwaba) is averaging 6.4 points and 7.8 rebounds.

Marshall averages 52.8 points per game behind sophomore guard Wendy Lo (11.3 points, 4.6 steals, 2.7 assists) and sophomore power forward Nicoletta Skaggs (8.9 points and 10.5 rebounds). The Barristers are riding a seven-game winning streak, having last lost to Northern League champion Eagle Rock on Jan. 30. The Wildcats have won four straight since a Feb. 8 loss to Palisades. 

University went 14-13 under Bianchi last season and were routed 55-14 at Washington in the first round of the City Division I playoffs. They lost in the opening round to Birmingham in 2009-10 and missed the playoffs in 2008-09 under Emilio Avarado.

After University's game, the boys Division III final between top-seeded Grant and No. 2 Bell will follow tip-off at 3 p.m., followed by the Division I girls final between No. 2 Fairfax and No. 1 Narbonne at 6 p.m. and the boys Division I final between No. 1 Taft and No. 7 Dorsey at 8 p.m. at CS Dominguez Hills.