ESPNHS California: Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood
Important announcement from Cal-Hi Sports | Archived Cal-Hi Sports content
Major changes this week after the first six due to Orange County and Inland Empire teams falling. Big movers led by Lynwood (now in the top 10), Carondelet and Huntington Beach.
There was a ceremony at halftime of the San Diego Mission Bay at Lynwood game last Saturday night to retire the jersey of current Mission Bay coach Sa’de Wiley-Gatewood, the 2002 Ms. Basketball State Player of the Year who led Lynwood to the CIF Division I state championship that season as a sophomore.
By the time the game was over, despite a 31-point performance by previous State Athlete of the Week Briteesha Solomon, the pupil was schooled by the teacher, as longtime Lynwood coach Ellis Barfield and his Lady Knights breezed to a 70-51 victory over the Bucs.
Cal-Hi SportsSa'de Wiley-Gatewood, who had her No. 15 retired last weekend when her Mission Bay team lost to Lynwood, led the Lady Knights to the 2002 FAB 50 national title. It’s been a while since Barfield, now in his 19th season at Lynwood, has had a team in the spotlight.
The 2003 team with Wiley-Gatewood as a junior got Barfield his third CIF Division I state championship, but since then, while they’ve been taking care of business in the San Gabriel Valley League and making some noise in the CIFSS playoffs, it hasn’t been until this year that Barfield has had a team capable of making a run to Sacramento.
Plus, with the new Southern Section playoff format based on enrollment and performance over the past four years, Lynwood is now Division II and avoids the crowded D1 bracket.
Like his teams of old, Barfield has a lot of girls that can play, with seven of them averaging over five points a game.
“We have a lot of kids under the radar that don’t know how good they are,” Barfield said.
Barfield has coached senior point guard Shahana Zeigler (8.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.8 assists, 2.4 steals) since sixth grade. Versatile 6-foot senior Jolana Ford can play any of the positions down low. Amber Blockmon, a 6-foot-2 junior, is long, slender and quick, and she can hit the outside shot. According to Barfield, she’s getting a lot of looks from colleges.
“Putting the kids in college, that’s what keeps me here,” Barfield told Cal-Hi Sports.
Unfortunately, due to a tragic loss to the California girls basketball community, the start time of Saturday’s jersey ceremony and game with Mission Bay had to be pushed back to accommodate a memorial service for former Long Beach Poly star Judith Smith. Smith recently passed away at the age of 25 after battling health issues for several years.
(Previous ranking in parentheses)
(After games of Saturday, Feb. 4)
1. (1) Windward (Los Angeles) 21-3
The Wildcats proved on the court they are deserving of top billing in California after winning 65-62 at No. 2 Mater Dei in the Nike Extravaganza on Friday night in Santa Ana. That makes it two straight weeks the Wildcats have beaten a California heavyweight after the close win over Long Beach Poly. Macchi Smith, the hero of the victory over Poly, came through again. The sophomore guard had a team-high 16 points, including a rebound and putback off a missed free-throw by Imani Stafford with 26 seconds left that pretty much sealed the deal. The Wildcats now finish up Alpha League play and then the CIFSS playoffs, but at this point it’s hard not to look ahead to a Division IV SoCal showdown with La Jolla Country Day.
Major changes this week after the first six due to Orange County and Inland Empire teams falling. Big movers led by Lynwood (now in the top 10), Carondelet and Huntington Beach.
There was a ceremony at halftime of the San Diego Mission Bay at Lynwood game last Saturday night to retire the jersey of current Mission Bay coach Sa’de Wiley-Gatewood, the 2002 Ms. Basketball State Player of the Year who led Lynwood to the CIF Division I state championship that season as a sophomore.
By the time the game was over, despite a 31-point performance by previous State Athlete of the Week Briteesha Solomon, the pupil was schooled by the teacher, as longtime Lynwood coach Ellis Barfield and his Lady Knights breezed to a 70-51 victory over the Bucs.
Cal-Hi SportsSa'de Wiley-Gatewood, who had her No. 15 retired last weekend when her Mission Bay team lost to Lynwood, led the Lady Knights to the 2002 FAB 50 national title. The 2003 team with Wiley-Gatewood as a junior got Barfield his third CIF Division I state championship, but since then, while they’ve been taking care of business in the San Gabriel Valley League and making some noise in the CIFSS playoffs, it hasn’t been until this year that Barfield has had a team capable of making a run to Sacramento.
Plus, with the new Southern Section playoff format based on enrollment and performance over the past four years, Lynwood is now Division II and avoids the crowded D1 bracket.
Like his teams of old, Barfield has a lot of girls that can play, with seven of them averaging over five points a game.
“We have a lot of kids under the radar that don’t know how good they are,” Barfield said.
Barfield has coached senior point guard Shahana Zeigler (8.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.8 assists, 2.4 steals) since sixth grade. Versatile 6-foot senior Jolana Ford can play any of the positions down low. Amber Blockmon, a 6-foot-2 junior, is long, slender and quick, and she can hit the outside shot. According to Barfield, she’s getting a lot of looks from colleges.
“Putting the kids in college, that’s what keeps me here,” Barfield told Cal-Hi Sports.
Unfortunately, due to a tragic loss to the California girls basketball community, the start time of Saturday’s jersey ceremony and game with Mission Bay had to be pushed back to accommodate a memorial service for former Long Beach Poly star Judith Smith. Smith recently passed away at the age of 25 after battling health issues for several years.
(Previous ranking in parentheses)
(After games of Saturday, Feb. 4)
1. (1) Windward (Los Angeles) 21-3
The Wildcats proved on the court they are deserving of top billing in California after winning 65-62 at No. 2 Mater Dei in the Nike Extravaganza on Friday night in Santa Ana. That makes it two straight weeks the Wildcats have beaten a California heavyweight after the close win over Long Beach Poly. Macchi Smith, the hero of the victory over Poly, came through again. The sophomore guard had a team-high 16 points, including a rebound and putback off a missed free-throw by Imani Stafford with 26 seconds left that pretty much sealed the deal. The Wildcats now finish up Alpha League play and then the CIFSS playoffs, but at this point it’s hard not to look ahead to a Division IV SoCal showdown with La Jolla Country Day.
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