CV's Ani Ebrahimian grabs a rebound as Burbank's Nia Tredwell and Damarie Gonzalez defend on Wednesday. (Roger Wilson/News-Press)Basketball: Falcon girls race to early lead in 57-26 Pacific League win.
By Charles Rich, Glendale News Press
Published: January 20, 2010
Published: January 20, 2010
LA CRESCENTA — The Crescenta Valley High and Burbank girls’ basketball teams were separated by the slimmest of margins entering the first of two Pacific League meetings this season. Crescenta Valley held a one-game lead over Burbank heading into Wednesday night’s contest, and looked to distance itself by getting off to a quick start. Crescenta Valley accomplished that feat en route to a convincing 57-26 home victory against Burbank.
The Falcons (15-4, 5-1 in league) used a 16-1 run to begin the game and never looked back against the struggling Bulldogs (8-10, 3-3). Crescenta Valley received a game-high 27 points from senior guard Cassie Pappas to win its third game in a row. Crescenta Valley Coach Jason Perez said the Falcons, who came in tied for second place with Pasadena behind Muir, didn’t want to focus on the standings.“We are not looking behind us,” Perez said. “We are looking ahead because we know that Muir is ahead of us and that’s the team we have got to beat.“We also knew that Burbank played Muir tough in an overtime loss. We came in up for this game.”
Crescenta Valley clicked from the start, while the Bulldogs struggled. Burbank, which came in tied for third with cross-town rival Burroughs, missed its first nine shots from the floor. The Falcons took advantage of Burbank’s shooting woes and raced to a 16-1 lead on a three-pointer by Pappas with 1:11 left in the first quarter. Burbank made one field goal in the first quarter.
Pappas, a reigning All-Area, All-CIF and all-league member, had 17 first-half points to help the Falcons build a comfortable 33-10 lead. Pappas collected 13 first-quarter points.“We weren’t taking them lightly,” said Pappas, who raised her career point total to 1,623. “We worked on our defense and different presses after we got out to the big lead.”Crescenta Valley got six points apiece from senior center Melanie Samvalian and senior forward Shayna Svihovec. Senior guard Dani Vargas chipped in with a game-high six assists.
Burbank Coach Bruce Breeden, who coached at Crescenta Valley from 2000-04, became increasingly frustrated with the Bulldogs’ struggles. He also spent most of the first half quarreling with the two officials about fouls against his team. Breeden, who picked up a technical foul at halftime, declined comment following the contest. Pappas made both free technical free throws to begin the third quarter.
Burbank, which lost its second consecutive contest, received a team-best 10 points and four assists from junior guard Evelyn Abrami. Sophomore forward Damarie Gonzalez added nine points.The teams will meet again at 5 p.m. Feb. 9 at Burbank.
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