The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Former Jackrabbits Wendell “WoWo” Moe, Jr. & Tyson Ruffins.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
The Wilson girls’ basketball team has been one of the great turnaround stories in the city to start the new year.
That story added another chapter Wednesday night as the Bruins defeated Long Beach Poly 37-27, marking the Bruins’ first win on the court over the Jackrabbits in more than 20 years.
After Poly jumped out to a 8-4 lead, Wilson settled in defensively and took advantage of Jackrabbit miscues as they went on a 16-2 run to take a 20-10 lead at halftime.
“This is my first year,” freshman Ty’shana Alexander said of the historic win. “I’m happy to experience that I’m really excited to continue on this journey with my team.”
The second quarter proved too much for the Jackrabbits to overcome as they only scored two points in the period. Alexander and Jordan Jefferson each scored four points in the second quarter as the Bruins (15-4, 3-0) looked to pull the upset.
With four points in the fourth, Emily Alvarez-Smith scored four points from the charity stripe as the Bruins kept their lead in double figures.
Poly (3-11, 1-2) cut the lead to seven in the fourth quarter as Imani Hagens scored 7 of her 14 points in the final period. That was the closest Poly would get as Kayloo Mascarina hit a three to push the lead back to double-digits.
Wilson will now hit the road as they head to Lakewood on Friday for an early battle of the first and second place teams in the Moore League.
Alexander scored 10 points to pace the Bruins and she’s looking forward to continuing this historic season with Wilson.
“Our chemistry is amazing,” Alexander said. “We just do our thing and then we come out with a win.”
