2009 Girls’ Basketball Preview:

GLENDALE — After advancing farther in the playoffs than any other local programs following area-best finishes in their respective leagues, the girls’ basketball teams from Flintridge Prep and Crescenta Valley High set the standard for success last season.

With rosters loaded with talented returning players, the Rebels and Falcons appear primed to repeat the positives of last year and they certainly hope to build on them.

Former assistant Todd Frost takes over for longtime Rebels Coach Kenny Fisher on an interim basis beginning this season, but has the luxury of inheriting a group of players almost identical to that which Fisher piloted to the CIF Southern Section Division V-AA quarterfinals last year. Prep’s third-place finish in the Prep League — and even its run to the quarters — were a downturn of sorts for a program that had won seven straight league titles and made recent trips to the CIF semifinals and finals.

This year, the senior-laden Rebels, led by four-year varsity standout Megan Musashi, are looking to reassert themselves as a dominant force in and out of league.

“We definitely want to get back to the top of league and make a deep run in the playoffs,” said Frost, whose team boasts six prominent senior returners, led by Deanna Watson, Kelsey Merchant and Courtney Takeda. “We want to get back to some of the traditions we’ve established throughout most of this decade.”

Crescenta Valley, which enjoyed a solid second-place finish in the Pacific League and lost to the No. 2 seed in the second round of the Division I-A playoffs last year, comes back strong behind its own fourth-year senior star, Cassie Pappas.

The lineup around her is experienced and, most importantly, getting healthy after a summer beset by injuries.

Melanie Minas is back from an anterior-cruciate ligament surgery and “100%,” according to Coach Jason Perez, and Melanie Samvalian is expected to be back close to top form from her own ACL injury by the onset of the league season.

“Our goal is definitely to compete for a league title,” Perez said.

Pappas can score with the best of them and the Falcons will have plenty of secondary options, but defense promises to be a big strength of this team, as well.