The Palisades High boys basketball team beat host Fairfax for the second time this season last Friday, 70-62, to finish second in the Western League and will be the No. 4 seed in the City Section playoffs. The Dolphins (20-8 overall, 10-2 league) will host San Pedro tonight at 7 p.m. If Pali defeats San Pedro (15-11), it will likely face Fairfax for the third time this season on Tuesday at home, as the fifth-seeded Lions are at home against No. 12 Dorsey in the first round. In Friday’s game, senior wing Ammar Rehman led the Dolphins with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while senior forward Dakota Chambers scored 12 points and had three rebounds. Senior guard Tyler Hildreth and junior guard Louis Kurihara had 10 points each. The win capped a perfect week for PaliHi, as it also defeated University (60-56) and LACES (56-39). For the season, the 6’5′ Rehman led the Dolphins with 15.6 points per game and 8.4 rebounds per game. Kurihara ranked second with 9.3 points per game, followed by senior guard Ryan Ford with 9.0. Chambers was second in rebounds with 5.7. Westchester, which is ranked 9h among Southern California teams by the L.A. Times, earned the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and will open up against Fremont. Girls Basketball Earns No. 6 Seed for Playoffs After finishing third in the Western League (12-19 overall, 8-4 league), the Dolphins earned the No. 6 seed in the City Section playoffs and will host Chatsworth tomorrow night at 7 p.m. If it defeats Chatsworth, Pali will advance to play the winner of Fairfax and Verdugo Hills in the second round on Wednesday. Fairfax won the Western League with an 11-1 record and is seeded third, while Westchester was second at 10-2 and is seeded first in Division II. The Dolphins won their first meeting with Fairfax in the regular season, edging the Lions, 40-37, at home on January 9 as junior guard Kylie Bethel scored 18 points. Fairfax won the rematch, 48-33. Last Wednesday, the Dolphins capped their season with a 43-32 win at LACES on Wednesday behind freshman guard Hydeia Duronslet’s 14 points, while junior guard Hayley Hutt and sophomore forward Bianca King scored 10 apiece. King was PaliHi’s leading scorer for the season, averaging 10.2 points per game, followed by Bethel with 9.0. King was the team’s leading rebounder with 6.5 per game, while senior guard Kylie Mizushima led the team with 3.7 assists a game. Boys Soccer Gains Playoff Bye Despite suffering its first loss in its season finale, the boys soccer team earned the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye in the City Section playoffs. Their first game will be at home against the winner of Monroe and South Gate on Tuesday at 3 p.m. The Dolphins (11-1-2 overall, 9-1-2 Western League) fell at home to University last Friday, 2-0, but still captured the league title by two games over Fairfax (7-3-2). In command of the Western League all year, the Dolphins had contributions from up and down their roster. Junior strikers Ben Kim (12 goals) and Tyler Newman (10) were the team’s leading scorers, while junior midfielder Lucas Wetherby-Jonsson led the team with 11 assists. The team’s goaltending has been outstanding, as senior Dylan Coleman has allowed just three goals and has posted six shutouts for the year. PaliHi has outscored its opponents 46-8 this season. Girls Seeded Fourth, Earn Bye The PaliHi girls soccer team finished its first season under head coach Luis Inga at 9-1-2 and tied for first in the Western League with LACES. The Dolphins were 9-2-2 overall, losing their only non-league game to Taft to open the year. Seeded fourth in the City Section playoffs, Pali has a first-round bye and will take on the winner of San Pedro and Birmingham at home on Wednesday at 3 p.m. Senior forward Ashley Coreas led the team with 11 goals, followed by freshman forward Kaitlyn Parcell with 10. Senior midfielder Grady Gitlin was first with seven assists, while sophomore goalkeeper Annika Lundeberg was stout in net all year with 14 saves and three shutouts.
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