Crescenta Valley girls’ basketball shows youth

BURBANK — Two different Crescenta Valley High girls’ basketball teams showed up Wednesday for their opening game of the Burroughs Magnolia Park Optimist Tournament.

There was the team that dominated the first and third quarters of play. And there was the team that struggled both offensively and defensively.

“We’re young,” Crescenta Valley Coach Jason Perez said. “None of these kids have experience. We’re just a young basketball that’s inexperienced, getting used to playing varsity ball, and so we go through stretches where we play really, really well and it looks like we can score points, and then we go through stretches where we can’t put the ball in the basket for our lives. It’s just going to take time. It’s a work in progress.”

With the inconsistency, Crescenta Valley fell in the tournament game to Agoura, 44-25.

The Falcons (1-4) are without two major components. Team captain Ella Stepanian and starting point guard Grace Trueblood are both out with season-ending injuries, leaving two gaping holes in the team’s starting line up.

Things started well for Crescenta Valley, which held an 8-3 advantage against Agoura after the first quarter. Then the Chargers took over.

Agoura went on a 28-0 run that started at the end of the first period and extended into the third. Overall, the Falcons went more than 14:30 without scoring. The Chargers extended a 24-8 halftime lead to 30-8 midway through the third period.

Then the other Crescenta Valley team appeared. Down, 32-10, the Falcons scored 10 unanswered points to close out the third period down, 32-20.

“It was just one of those things where you just feel it and everyone’s making their baskets,” Crescenta Valley senior Sydney Cummings said. “We took so many shots, they had to start going in at one point.”

However, Agoura regained control and closed out the game late.

Cummings paced Crescenta Valley with seven points. Jacqueline Wilson added dive points, Emily Beglarian had six rebounds and Cynthia Shahbandeh added five rebounds.

Agoura’s Kim Jacobs lead all scorers with 23 points, including four three-pointers.

Perez was happy that his team played hard and defended well and is learning how to handle pressure and speed.

“The biggest thing is that we’re learning we can play with good teams,” Perez said. “We can get out there and physically play with them and defend them. It’s the issue of being able to put the ball into the basket. That’s really what it comes down to.”