Muir Girls Drive Through Crescenta Valley for Pacific Title

The Crescenta Valley High girls’ basketball team knew that the road to a third consecutive Pacific League championship went right through Muir.

However, the Muir trail was a dead end Friday for the Falcons, who lost, 69-57, to the Mustangs. Muir (19-2, 8-0 in league play) clinched at least a share of the title.

“They’re a good team,” Crescenta Valley Coach Marc Ward said. “And this is not the end of the season for us.”

Ward shouldn’t worry about his team quitting. Crescenta Valley (19-6, 6-2) had every opportunity to pack it in when Muir’s Colleen Rhemm hit a three-point basket with 5 minutes 47 seconds left to give the Mustangs a 58-48 lead.

Instead, Crescenta Valley scored seven consecutive points to pull to within three.

“We have better athletes and talent,” Muir Coach Corrine DeJong said. “But Crescenta Valley will try to out-hustle you all night.”

Freshman Michelle Greco and junior Amirah Leonard provided the bulk of the hustle and scoring for the Falcons.

Greco scored 28 points and had 10 rebounds. Leonard scored 25 points. The only other Crescenta Valley player to score was forward Jackie Rhetta, who had four points.

Muir benefited from a balanced attack.

Senior center Tomisha Hughes scored 17 points. Keli Moore scored 11 and Shannon Lee and Kyla Johnson each had 10.

The result was the Mustangs’ 13th consecutive victory and a long-awaited league title.

Muir, which won seven of eight Pacific League championships from 1983 to 1990, had not won one since, and DeJong, in her fourth season, admitted feeling the pressure to produce.

“Oh, yes,” said DeJong, whose team finished second to Crescenta Valley last season. “There really is. Not quite as much as our boys’ team has, though.”

Crescenta Valley took an 11-6 lead, then led, 13-9, midway through the first quarter.

But Muir went on an 18-3 run over a five-minute span to take a 27-16 lead.

Leonard scored six points and Greco added five to spark a run that pulled the Falcons to within 33-29 at halftime. Leonard’s three-pointer in the third quarter cut the margin to 37-36, but the Falcons couldn’t catch Muir.

The Mustangs finally put Crescenta Valley away with a 9-0 outburst after Rhetta scored with 3:18 left to trim Muir’s lead to 60-57.