VALLEY-AREA ROUNDUP : Crescenta Valley Girls Shake Off Village Christian

It was near halftime when Crescenta Valley High girls’ basketball Coach Marc Ward came to a conclusion.

“If Village (Christian) was going to beat us, it was going to have to be from the inside,” he said.

Ward extended his Falcons’ defense to the perimeter at halftime and turned the Crusaders inside out in a 62-50 victory in a second-round game of the Thousand Oaks tournament Monday.

Junior Amirah Leonard scored 16 of her 34 points in the first quarter to help stake Crescenta Valley (10-3) to a 25-14 lead.

But the defensive adjustment was needed after Village Christian (8-3) connected on four consecutive three-pointers during a two-minute span of the second quarter, helping to close an 11-point margin to 33-30 at intermission. The Crusaders managed only one three-pointer in three attempts in the second half. While Village Christian’s outside game floundered, Crescenta Valley’s flourished.

Leonard, a junior guard, made five three-pointers and opened up the inside for the undersized Falcons.

“That’s the best game she’s ever played at C.V.,” Ward said of the third-year varsity player. “And this was her 62nd game with us.”

Freshman Michelle Greco added 11 points and 14 rebounds for Crescenta Valley. The Falcons, who started three juniors, a sophomore and Greco, outrebounded the Crusaders, 43-26, despite a considerable height disadvantage.

All-Southern Section forward Lindy James scored 21 points for Village Christian, 14 in the first half. Village Christian struggled against the Falcons’ full-court pressure and committed 29 turnovers. In the first half, the Crusaders turned the ball over 16 times, leading to 21 Crescenta Valley points.

The Crusaders’ third loss equals their total from last season, when they advanced to the Southern Section Division IV-A championship game and Southern California semifinals and posted a 26-3 record.

“I am not at all pleased with my team’s effort,” said Village Christian Coach John Domke.