‘Crescenta Valley basketball snatches defeat out of clutches of victory’
LA CRESCENTA — A turnover and score proved the difference for the Crescenta Valley High girls’ basketball team, which saw what would have been a tight victory end in a 45-44 defeat to visiting Ventura Foothill Tech in Thursday afternoon’s West Coast Holiday Festival.
The loss was the second in a row for the reigning Pacific League champion Falcons (7-4), who are 1-2 in tournament play and leave home for Friday action at 1 p.m. at Burroughs against a team to be determined.
“The headline for this story should be ‘Crescenta Valley snatches defeat out of the clutches of victory,’” Falcons coach Jason Perez said. “It should be that because we outplayed that team in every category.
“We missed eight lay-ups in this game, made some bad mistakes at the end and had a phantom call against us that also hurt.”
Crescenta Valley was on the cusp of icing the contest after great defense at mid-court by Falcons senior forward Michelle Boghossian (six points) resulted in a five-second violation against Foothill Tech (5-2). The turnover gave the ball to Crescenta Valley with 38 seconds left and the Falcons leading, 44-42.
One big giveaway by Foothill Tech, however, was followed by an even bigger takeaway as Dragons junior guard Emiline Bova, who led all players with 16 points, came up with a steal with 11 seconds left.
Bova sprinted downcourt, dribbled by two defenders and connected on a lay-up with 3.5 seconds left when the official called an and-one foul against shocked Crescenta Valley defender Rachel Dayag.
“I was surprised; I couldn’t believe the call,” said Dayag, who finished tied for the team lead of 11 points with Caity Bouchard. “I didn’t do anything and I didn’t touch anyone. It was crazy.”
Bova came through for her team and drilled the game-winning free throw, which gave Foothill Tech a 45-44 advantage.
With less than four seconds left, Crescenta Valley moved the ball downcourt quickly and saw its fortunes rim out on a 15-foot runner from Dayag at the buzzer.
“We had that turnover with 11 seconds left on a pass when the ball should have been in the key at that point and that’s something we just have to do better,” Perez said. “Besides the missed lay-ups, we also had some other bad shots and turnovers that should have been points. We just found ways to lose.”
Crescenta Valley trailed, 32-30, after three quarters, but took the lead after a 6-0 run that put the Falcons up, 44-40, with 2:03 remaining after a clutch corner three-pointer Denise Dayag (six points).
Throughout other points in the game, Crescenta Valley built moderate leads only to allow Foothill Tech to pull close on each occasion.
Crescenta Valley led, 27-20, at 6:14 in the third quarter on a lay-up and free throw from a fouled Rachel Dayag.
Foothill Tech responded with a 12-3 run capped by two free throws from Abby Sourwine (seven points) with .2 seconds left in the third to go up, 32-30.
Sarah Perez added six points for Crescenta Valley, while Annika Kinnaman contributed eight points for Foothill Tech.
“These games are good lessons for us,” Rachel Dayag said. “This is all preparation for league. We didn’t play well, but we’re getting better.”
