Fourth on the Floor

STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Perhaps the most valuable lesson the Palisades High girls basketball team learned from last week’s Conquistadore Classic in Woodland Hills is that defeating quality teams requires 32 minutes of maximum effort and concentration.

The Dolphins beat Arleta 49-26 and Chatsworth 49-32 to finish first in their pool, but struggled in the early going against perennial power Chaminade before falling 69-38 in the semifinals. Another slow start spelled doom in a 50-33 loss to Burroughs in the third-place game Saturday, but afterwards top scorer Jane Nwaba was upbeat.

“Playing Chaminade was great, I watched Pali play them two years ago in state [playoffs],” said Nwaba, a sophomore who had 20 points against Chaminade and nine against Burroughs. “I think we’re all improving. We’re not turning the ball over as much. If they close out on me I have to know what to do and make the right decision.”   

Last year, Sammie Arnold (along with teammates Alexis Pettis, Kira Prudente, Jenna Chudacoff and Sofia Grissom) helped Paul Revere Middle School win its first Delphic League title. Now she’s the Dolphins’ starting shooting guard.

“The girls are better and more competitive in high school but the biggest change has been going from the oldest on my team to the youngest,” said Arnold, who honed her skills at the Rec Center growing up. “I like shooting the ball and I worked on that all summer. Another difference is style of play. At Revere we ran some easy offenses and defenses whereas we have 10 to 15 plays now that we’ve had to learn.”

Junior Brooke Massaye, the only returner besides Nwaba, saw plenty of action after missing the first two tournaments with an ankle injury. She had six points in the last two games last week and likes new coach Danielle Foley’s intensity.

“I don’t have the title of captain but I like being able to share with the younger players,” Messaye said. “Coach says it’s about pushing ourselves to win the small battles in practice so you can win the big ones on the court.”