Falcons' caretaker on the court

The top-10 female high school athletes of the year were voted on by the Glendale News-Press sports department. These are selections 2-10. See Wednesday's edition for the Female Athlete of the Year.

2 Cassie Pappas, Crescenta Valley basketball, senior — In her final season manning the court for the Falcons, the guard put together a fabulous season that featured her share of team and personal success.

The 2010 All-Area Girls' Basketball Player of the Year, Pappas, who will attend the University of Pennsylvania, scored 755 points and averaged 25.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.1 steals per game for a Crescenta Valley squad that went 24-6 and 12-2 in the Pacific League for second place. The Falcons also reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 2001.

She finished her Crescenta Valley career third on the program' all-time scoring list with 1,938 points.

"She was the leading scorer in our league and she helped get us to the quarters," Crescenta Valley Coach Jason Perez said. "She was definitely one of the top players in the division.

"She got noticed after last year and she put in a lot of hard work this season. She's earned it and all of the hard work has now paid off."

Additionally, Pappas was named the league's co-most valuable player.

3 Kim Fraisse, Crescenta Valley water polo and swimming, junior — Fraisse, a utility player, came into her own playing for a program steeped in tradition. It got to the point where Fraisse's body of work received recognition locally and across the region.

Fraisse finished with a program-record 129 goals and a team-high 53 steals to lead the Falcons to a Pacific League championship. Fraisse had the ability to score clutch goals and keep the Falcons atop their perch in league.

With Fraisse at the helm, Crescenta Valley reached the CIF Southern Section Division IV quarterfinals for the third season in a row. She was voted the league's co-most valuable player after leading the Falcons to an undefeated league championship run at 8-0 and was later voted All-Area Girls' Water Polo Player of the Year.

In addition, Fraisse, who has scored a combined 205 goals the past two seasons, was selected to the All-CIF first team for the second consecutive season.

"The thing with Kim was her ability to take over a game single-handedly," Crescenta Valley Coach Pete Loporchio said. "Kim can do it all on offense and defense."