LOS ANGELES — Harbor Teacher Prep sophomore Muna Emegwa has big dreams in the game of basketball.
“I want go to pro and go to the WNBA,” she said. “Ever since I was 4 that was my dream. I had my older brother training me outside in the backyard, putting in time to get me better and that’s why I’m here right now.”
She played like a pro Friday. She dominated the L.A. City Section Division III final with a quadruple-double of 35 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals, while leading the Monarchs to a 68-44 win over Sylmar at L.A. Southwest College.
“She’s come a long way,” Harbor Teacher Prep coach Louie Nelson said of Emegwa. “She was a forward and I moved her to the guard position and that was the best move I’ve made.”
Emegwa scored 16 points in the first half as the Monarchs took a 39-26 lead at halftime. In the second half, she helped them pull away, scoring 19 points.
Harbor Teacher led 21-15 at the end of the first quarter.
In the first half, Isabella Gonzalez kept the Spartans (8-14) within striking distance, scoring 20 points. However, in the second half, she managed just two points.
“We couldn’t get her the ball (in the second half),” Sylmar first-year coach D’Marcus Crawford said of Gonzalez. “We couldn’t get shots to go in, we couldn’t find things that we wanted. We started to get away from what we were true to on offense, and that led to us not getting as many shots as we normally would. We have to trust ourselves throughout the game, no matter what the score is.”
“Once she (Emegwa) got going, I told them it’s tough to stop someone who is determined to score like that.”
Yaneli Zuniga-Hernadez scored 14 points for eighth-seeded Sylmar. The Spartans had playoff wins over Monroe, top-seed Lakeview Charter and Santee to advance to the finals.
“Being in this atmosphere as a first-year coach with these ladies, was a treat,” Crawford said.
Misae Coleman had 15 points for Harbor Teacher (17-0), Nneka Nnoli had eight, Abigail Sanchez finished with six and Autumn Eaves scored four.
Sylmar cut the deficit to 12 points, late in the third quarter, 44-31, but the Monarchs would have the lead back to 18 points (54-36) heading into the fourth quarter.
“I really put in the work,” Emegwa said. “It was our defense that got us here and dedicating our time to get here was the key. Coach really knows the game and listening to his advice, getting back on defense and helping our teammates know where they had to be (on defense) was important.
It is the first City title for the Monarchs after four semifinal exits in previous years, and it the first for Nelson in his eight years coaching the team.
“This means a lot, they’ve worked so hard,” Nelson said. “I have some young girls. I have two seniors, two juniors. The rest are 10th and ninth graders, and they play so hard and they’ve come a long way.
“Last year, they got a little taste (of playoff success) and this year, they came out, persevered. They might not be the best team I’ve had, but they play like warriors.”