Westinghouse has played for the City League championship in girls' basketball every year since 1988.

That streak was in jeopardy when the Bulldogs (16-8) facde Perry in the semifinals at Allderdice last night. Perry finished ahead of Westinghouse in the Section 1 standings. The Commodores topped the Bulldogs in their most recent game, 56-40, Jan. 14.

Westinghouse coach Phyllis Jones said she believes her team will play much better tomorrow.

"I fault myself for that game," Jones said. "I scheduled four games that week and that was our fourth game in five days. We won the first three [against Oliver, Vincentian and Duquesne]. When we got to Perry, we had tired legs and I think the girls were a little bit down mentally. I know you're going to see a different team when we play them again."

Westinghouse began the season with an 8-0 start. However, the Bulldogs entered the playoffs on a downward trend, losing three of the last four regular-season games before winning Monday in the first round against Langley, 60-41. Westinghouse led only, 24-23, at halftime before wearing down Langley with its deeper bench.

"We can utilize our bench a little more this year and not lose anything when we put somebody in for a starter," said Jones, who put six substitutes into the Langley game before halftime.

Jones has used several different starting lineups. The starters against Langley were: 5-2 junior guard Kelly Smith, 5-6 senior guard Shameika Christian, 5-4 freshman guard Assata Ogbonna, 6-5 freshman center Shawniece Wilson and 5-11 senior forward Tamara Brumfield.

"This is about our fourth or fifth change in the lineup," Jones said. "We're still looking for that right chemistry."

Others who got onto the court before halftime were 5-4 freshman guard Jessica Fields, 5-4 senior guard Intisar Ismaeli, 6-0 senior Phylicia Swain, 5-11 junior center Donnetta Allen, 6-1 sophomore forward Sade Turner and 5-6 junior guard/forward Teshanna Davis.

"Every year, we get a new group of girls," Jones said. "We don't know who is going to be there for the first day of practice, so it's like starting from scratch every season.

"We have four seniors who play a lot, but most of them had to wait their turn until this year because we just graduated a group of seniors last year who contributed to the program for a long time. It's time for [the current seniors] to shine."

Westinghouse not only fell to Perry last month, but also lost to City League opponents Allderdice and Carrick for the first time in almost 10 years. Despite these rare losses, Jones is confident her team is in a position to maintain its championship-game appearance streak.

More than the title-game streak will be on the line for Westinghouse against Perry. The winner also qualifies for the PIAA Class AAA playoffs.

Earlier this season, the Post-Gazette did a substantial feature story on Wilson that appeared on the front page of the newspaper's daily sports section, next to articles about the Steelers and Pitt athletics.

Wilson is a freshman who shows great potential, evidenced by her 15-point effort against Langley despite sitting out most of the second quarter.

This attention-getting story could have ruffled a few feathers among some of the older, more-experienced players. However, Jones said harmony has been maintained among the players who support each other through the ups and downs of the long season.

"They really support her," Jones said. "She's only been playing basketball for a year-and-a-half. There's still a lot she has to learn. Our players are right behind her, continuing to encourage her and work with her."

Jones prides herself on maintaining the winning Bulldogs tradition. She reminds the current players about the team's storied history. This includes eight City League titles since 1984 with the most recent championship occurring two years ago. Former Westinghouse standout Sidney Thomas recently gave a pep talk to the players. Thomas is currently playing at Fairmont State in West Virginia.

"Our girls know about the tradition," Jones said. "Our girls were just down in West Virginia to watch Sidney Thomas play. She had a heck of a game on Saturday and afterwards she talked to the girls, encouraging them and motivating them to keep that record going."