Naila Moseley

Danielle Rainey's offense and her teammates' strong defensive pressure led Crenshaw High to a 73-53 victory over Harbor City Narbonne in the City Section Division 4-A girls' championship game Friday night in front of an estimated 2,500 at the Sports Arena. Rainey scored 28 points in 25 minutes and teammate Naila Moseley scored 11 points, grabbed five rebounds and had five steals to lead the Cougars (23-3).

The 27th annual All Sport L.A. Watts Summer Games, the largest high school athletic competition in the nation, begins with preliminary competition Saturday at 24 sites throughout the Los Angeles Basin. Finals begin June 25. Admission is free. The Central City area will be well-represented by Crenshaw's two-time City Section 4-A girls' basketball champions, City wrestling champion Bell and Southern Section IV-A Division boys' basketball champion Verbum Dei.

The 28th annual All Sport L.A. Watts Summer Games kicked off Saturday at Cal State Dominguez Hills. More than 12,000 high schools are participating in 15 different events. The games will conclude next Saturday and Sunday at Cal State Dominguez Hills. Dorsey High, Fremont, Los Angeles, Jordan and Franklin will host men's basketball games, while Crenshaw, Manual Arts, Locke and Washington will serve as venues for women's basketball.

Ventura Buena made four of six free throws in the final 40 seconds to defeat La Crescenta Crescenta Valley, 59-55, in the Southern Section Division I-A championship game Friday at the Pyramid in Long Beach. Buena center Nicole Greathouse scored six of her 18 points during a 10-0 Bulldog run to open the second half as Buena took (24-2) a 47-32 lead over Crescenta Valley (28-3).

So much for revenge for Washington High. Crenshaw quickly dispelled any of those notions, coasting to a 62-50 victory for its third win of the season over its Southern Pacific Conference rival Wednesday. The win also gave unbeaten Crenshaw (22-0) the conference title and most likely the top seed for the 4-A playoffs. The draw was determined Saturday.

Crenshaw High's success was unmatched by any City Section girls' basketball team over the last three years. The Cougars were 76-10 during that span, losing only twice against City competition. Both defeats came against Washington during the 1993-94 season. The Cougars, though, got the upper hand against their Southern Pacific Conference rival this season, beating the Generals four times on the way to their third consecutive City 4-A title.

Santa Ana Mater Dei High used an 11-2 run midway through the fourth quarter en route to a 72-57 victory over Crenshaw, ending the Cougars' unbeaten season in the second round of the Southern Regional Division I girls' basketball playoffs Thursday night at Cal State Fullerton. Mater Dei forward Melody Peterson, despite a stiff back and sitting out most the first quarter in foul trouble, scored 25 points to lead the Monarchs (27-1).

It was a long road back to the City Section 4-A championship. The Crenshaw High Cougars needed to win the longest game in girls' City final history to repeat as champions Friday at the Sports Arena. Crenshaw, which finished in a three-way tie for the Southern Pacific Conference title, outlasted Roosevelt in two overtimes, 75-68, to win its third City girls' title.