LA CRESCENTA — In convincing fashion, the Crescenta Valley High girls’ basketball team accomplished two significant feats on Monday night.
They put to rest a long winning streak by a league nemesis and, in doing so, put themselves into a first-place tie in the Pacific League.
Behind a stingy defense and a game-high 22 points from senior guard Cassie Pappas, Crescenta Valley rolled to a 61-50 home victory against reigning league champion Muir.
The Falcons (19-4, 9-1 in league) snapped the Mustangs’ 51-game league winning streak and topped Muir (13-7, 9-1) for the first time since picking up a 45-44 win on Feb. 6, 2004. Now, the Falcons are in prime position to win at least a share of the program’s first league championship since 2004.
On Monday, the Falcons tightened up defensively and didn’t allow many offensive rebounds. That proved to be a problem during Crescenta Valley’s 59-50 loss at Muir on Jan. 11.
“We did a pretty good job of keeping them off the offensive boards,” said Crescenta Valley Coach Jason Perez, whose team trailed, 11-2, midway through the first quarter before regrouping to win their seventh game in a row. “We also did a better job of stopping their dribble penetration, and that was the biggest thing.
“We won every quarter tonight, and there was a sense of calmness even when we were down, 11-2. I saw no panic and then we hit some shots and took it from there. It’s just a great win.”
Crescenta Valley, ranked seventh in the latest CIF Southern Section Division I-A poll, snapped a seven-game losing streak against Muir, ranked No. 5 in Division III-A. The Mustangs last fell in a league game Feb. 9, 2006, when they suffered a 56-54 road loss to Pasadena.
The Falcons began to click after falling into an early hole. Muir used an 11-0 run to take an 11-2 lead with 4:48 left in the first quarter, but the Falcons closed out the stanza with a 20-9 run to take a 22-20 lead. Crescenta Valley senior forward Shayna Svihovec made a shot at the buzzer to give the Falcons a two-point advantage.
Then, the Falcons’ defense went to work. Crescenta Valley limited the Mustangs, who have captured five straight league crowns, to six second-quarter points.
“Our offense started to get going, but it was our defense that held them,” said Pappas, who contributed a game-high six assists. “We just played half-court, and that was our main focus.”
Crescenta Valley got a three-pointer from junior guard Melanie Minas to forge a 32-24 lead with 2:12 remaining in the first half. The Falcons owned a 36-26 halftime lead.
Pappas, a reigning All-Area first-team member, made a long-range three-pointer to extend Crescenta Valley’s lead to 41-29 with 4:40 left in the third quarter. Pappas finished with five three-pointers, including three in the second half.
Crescenta Valley registered 10 three-pointers in all, including two apiece from senior guard Dani Vargas and senior wing Ani Ebrahimian (10 points).
Muir received a team-best 14 points from senior guard Taylor Gomez and 13 from senior forward/center Daysha Thomas.
Crescenta Valley, which concluded a seven-game homestand, will play its final four regular season games on the road. The Falcons will next compete at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Pasadena.
