Mirjam Swanson
o7 GLENDALE -- At about this time last year, with just a few days
left until the New Year, there were all sorts of intriguing story linef7
so7 developing with local teams.
One boys' basketball squad was conjuring up its best season in 21
years.
A girls' water polo team had already made a major improvement and was
on its way a stellar regular season, only to have its aspirations doused
early in the playoffs.
Three boys' soccer teams were headed for fruitful tournament runs.
And so on.
Here it is, a look back on an eventful Winter 1999-2000:f7 Boys'
basketball
Crescenta Valley High stole the show among local boys' basketball
teams, putting together a 23-6 season, its best since 1979.
Sparked by the consistent play of talented 6-foot-6 post player James
Jenkins, who averaged 18.5 points per game, and the timely performances
by Chris Tarne, the latest edition of a storied Falcon program entered
last season's playoffs with a an overall record of 182-74 dating back to
1978.
CV proceeded to add two wins to that total in the postseason, beating
Santa Maria and Leuzinger by a combined 10 points and reaching the third
round of the CIF Southern Section Division IAA playoffs. But in that
third round, CV allowed a hot-shooting Ayala team to pull away late,
ending the Falcons' playoff run, 78-68.
The rest of the local boys' teams -- Glendale, Hoover, La Canada, St.
Francis, Village Christian, Flintridge Prep and Verdugo Hills -- didn't
fare as well, going a combined 78-108.
Girls' basketball
The Falcon girls' basketball team warmed up as the season progressed.
The Falcons put together a five-game winning streak heading into the CIF
Southern Section Division IIAA playoffs, in which CV lasted two games
before losing to Oxnard in the third round, 57-42.
The Falcons were led by an effective defense and the Pacific League's
Most Valuable Player, Sinnamonn Garrett, who scored 21.9 points per game
for CV and is now lighting it up at New Mexico State University, where
she's the 12th best three-point shooter in the NCAA Division I as of Dec.
20, at a 50% clip.
La Canada, behind a 20-7 overall record, and a 9-1 mark in league,
tied for the Rio Hondo League title, before it too was bounced in the
second round of the Southern Section Division IIIAA playoffs.
Otherwise, Holy Family, an all-girls school of 270, made big waves in
the Horizon League with its first playoff appearance in memory. Coach
Mathan Jackson led the Gaels to an 8-12 record before losing in the first
