Crescenta Valley Bags Muir in Trap

LA CRESCENTA —  Despite the strong reputation of the Muir High girls’ basketball team, Crescenta Valley Coach Marc Ward didn’t expect much of a game Tuesday between the top two teams in the Pacific League.

With Muir top-ranked in Southern Section Division III-AA and Crescenta Valley holding the No. 2 spot in Division I-A behind Buena, you’d expect a competitive game, right? Wrong.

Crescenta Valley’s aggressive zone-trap defense forced most of Muir’s 33 turnovers and the Falcons cruised to a 70-53 league victory at Crescenta Valley.

What was mildly interesting in the first half quickly turned ugly in the second.

Crescenta Valley (14-2, 2-0 in league), which defeated Glendale by 48 points Friday in its league opener, led by 15 after the first quarter.

But Muir (12-6, 1-1) responded with a 12-2 run early in the second quarter. Moments later, the Mustangs pulled to within 32-27 on a follow shot by senior forward Tiana Sanders.

The Falcons regrouped, took better care of the ball and in the final two minutes went on a 9-0 run for a 41-27 halftime lead.

From there, it got more one-sided.

Crescenta Valley’s Tara Gregory, Sinnammon Garrett and Jackie Rhetta, who combined for 24 steals, took advantage of Muir’s lazy passing in the second half and helped the Falcons lead by as many as 25 points.

Ward said it went exactly as planned.

“[Muir doesn’t] have the type of guards that I have,” he said. “They’re basically an inside game only. So, we took it to their guards.”

Muir guards Farrah Wheeler and Lisa Allen had a tough time trying to get the ball inside to 6-foot-1 Charel Bailey and the 5-10 Sanders. Although Sanders finished with 28 points, most came on rebounds.

Meanwhile, Crescenta Valley’s Michelle Greco, a 5-10 junior forward, was her consistent self, scoring 21 points. Gregory scored 18 and Rhetta added 16.

Rhetta, a three-year starter at guard, changed her defensive approach in the second half, when she collected five of her seven steals.

“I knew they were probably tired [in the second half],” Rhetta said. “I was more focused on staying in the [lane] and taking the inside game away [in the first half].”