Sampson Gives a General Boost to Washington

In leading Washington High to its third consecutive City 4-A Division title Friday, Charisse Sampson, a 5-foot-11 junior, solidified her position as the most dominating girls’ basketball player in the City.

Despite being slowed by a cold, Sampson had 20 points, 16 rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists in Washington’s 64-34 title-game victory over Crenshaw. In only three seasons, she has set school records for points, 1,428, and rebounds, 1,165, becoming only the third player in City history to top 1,000 in each category.

“She played just an average game for her,” Washington Coach Phil Chase said of Sampson’s performance against Crenshaw. “For anyone else, it’s a great game. But, for Charisse, it was not anything special.”

In her prep career, Sampson has gone from a quiet freshman center to a versatile captain, who leads her team vocally and by example. When Washington won the City title in 1989, Sampson started and scored 11 points in the Generals’ 66-48 victory over Crenshaw. Last season, she was chosen state sophomore player of the year. She took down 14 rebounds in the Generals’ 65-49 championship victory over Van Nuys.

This season, Sampson has had to take on a bigger role for Washington because of the graduation of two-time All-City players Remitha Houston and Detra Lockhart. She has responded by averaging 20.8 points, 16.6 rebounds, seven steals, three blocks and three assists.

Sampson, whose floor game is as strong as her low post moves, has played every position in leading Washington to a 24-4 record. She might start a game playing center before moving to power forward and then finish playing point guard.

“I can play anywhere on the court as long as I have the ball in my hands,” Sampson said. “But I feel that I can dominate a game the most from the inside.”

Sampson will get a chance to see how she rates against competition outside the City when Washington opens the Southern Regional State tournament against Thousand Oaks, the Southern Section I-A Division champion, at 7:30 tonight at Gardena High.

In the 10-year modern history of the state basketball tournament, a City Section team has won the boys’ Division I title six times. City girls’ teams, however, have not done as well. In 1981, the first year of the tournament, Locke defeated San Jose Lynbrook for the title, 73-61, but since then, no City team has advanced beyond the Southern Regional.

Whereas City boys’ teams are annually regarded among the state’s best, only Washington, which has won the last three City titles and has not lost to a City opponent in 43 games, has been ranked in the state girls’ poll in recent years.

“We lose a lot of girls in the City, who move out to play for Southern Section teams,” Washington Coach Phil Chase said. “We have talent, but we can only play with who sticks around.”

Notes

The first round of the Southern Regional State tournament begins tonight in five boys’ and five girls’ divisions. Fremont, the City 3-A Division champion, is top-seeded in the boys’ Division I and will play Long Beach Millikan, the Southern Section I-AA runner-up, at Cal State Dominguez Hills at 7:30. Fremont (31-1) might meet Manual Arts, runner-up in the 4-A Division, in the semifinals Thursday. The Toilers, upset by Westchester in the 4-A final Friday, will travel south to play Poway, the San Diego City champion, in the first round. . . . Even though Westchester defeated Manual Arts for the City title, the Comets (22-7) were seeded only sixth in the Southern Regional. Westchester will play Long Beach Jordan, the Southern Section I-AA champion, tonight at Long Beach City College. . . . Competition also will be strong in the boys’ Division II playoffs, with Artesia, the defending State champion, playing Riverside North, the Southern Section Division II-AA runner-up, in the first round. The top-seeded Pioneers (26-2), who won the Southern Section Division II-A title, could meet Escondido San Pasqual or Tustin, the Southern Section Division II-AA champion, in the Southern Regional championship. . . . In girls’ Division I, Inglewood Morningside, the two-time defending State champion, is top-seeded and will play host to Roosevelt, the City 3-A Division champion, in the first round. Ventura Buena, the Southern Section Division I-AA runner-up, will play at second-seeded Fresno Clovis West.