H-W COACH WONDERS HOW FAR THEY'LL GO : HARV.-WEST. 76 STOCKDALE 58.

Byline: Chris Branam Daily News Staff Writer

Most of his questions were answered after halftime. Still, Brian Taylor had some doubt.

``I still don't know how good we are,'' said Taylor, Harvard-Westlake's girls' basketball coach.

Are the Wolverines legitimate contenders for the Green Division crown at the prestigious Tournament of Champions? That might be a prospect after they dismantled Bakersfield Stockdale 76-58 last Friday afternoon at Santa Barbara High.

``This game, we were kind of the underdog,'' Wolverines guard Brooke Porter said. ``We aren't ranked or anything. But we realized we could beat this team.''

Harvard-Westlake (6-1) used a strong second half to pull away from the Mustangs (3-2) and advance to a winner's bracket game against Santa Rosa Rincon Valley Christian. Rincon Valley Christian, the state Division V champion last season, takes on the Wolverines at 11:30 a.m. today.

Harvard-Westlake, ranked No. 4 by the Daily News, found itself in a tight game early against Stockdale, a semifinalist in the Central Section's Division II playoffs last season. Keyed by top player Erin Tomlinson, the Mustangs went on a 7-0 run to take a 23-18 lead with 6 minutes, 5 seconds left in the second quarter. Tomlinson, a 5-9 senior guard, picked up two assists in the burst.

But the Wolverines slowly cut into the lead and ended up taking a 35-30 halftime lead on Carrisa Abbott's three-point play. Taylor thought the lead should have been greater.

``I said I'm not even going to get on your case,'' said Taylor. ``We're just going to move on. The keys are going to be defense and rebounding.''

Harvard-Westlake responded with a 24-point third quarter that began with Porter's 12-footer just 10 seconds into the half.

Everything started clicking. Porter started picking up assists (she had a game-high seven) and the front line of L'Tanya Robnett, Rolake Bamgbose and Umelogo Udeze controlled the boards. Bamgbose had 11 rebounds and Udeze eight as the Wolverines out-rebounded the Mustangs 37-28.