Crenshaw Plays Numbers Game Against Greco

A five-on-one break late in the game summed up matters for Michelle Greco and Crescenta Valley High.

Crenshaw High was the five, Greco the one.

And so it went as Crenshaw sped to a 65-46 victory over Greco and the Falcons in a Southern California Regional Division I semifinal Thursday night at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Greco, Crescenta Valley’s prolific junior, scored only 19 points against a collapsing zone defense determined to place a body between her and the basket.

Greco’s point total was a game-high, but far from her 37-point postseason average that included a 54-point performance Tuesday at Porterville Monache.

“I’m extremely disappointed,” Greco said, battling tears. “I couldn’t do anything. They’re a really quick team. We only had one shot and if it didn’t go in, that was it.”

The Cougars (26-3) out-rebounded Crescenta Valley (29-4), 42-20, and repeatedly scored on second and third chances.

“It killed us,” Crescenta Valley Coach Marc Ward said. “We couldn’t stop them.”

Stopping Greco was a collective effort.

“We didn’t alter our defense for Greco, we just stayed with what we’ve been doing all year,” senior forward Danielle Rainey said. “We stayed in front of her and didn’t let her penetrate.”

Rainey had 13 points and seven rebounds. Naila Moseley, who has signed with Stanford, led the Cougars with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Four starters scored in double figures for Crenshaw.

“We’re a team,” Crenshaw co-Coach Greg Cobbs said. “We try not to be individualistic. And we play team defense.

“Unless you’re Lisa Leslie, you’re not going to score 54 points against us.”

Crenshaw, the City Section 4-A champion, jumped to an 8-2 lead and kept the Falcons, the Southern Section Division I-A runners-up, to barely within striking distance for the rest of the first half.

Greco, held to two points in the first quarter, scored seven in the second.

Her driving basket and foul shot with a minute to play in the third quarter pulled the Falcons to within 40-35.

But Crenshaw answered with eight consecutive points.

Three-point shooting by junior guard Tara Gregory, who scored 15 points, and senior Sara Strother, who scored nine, kept Crescenta Valley in the game.

But with Greco held in check, the Cougars’ lead never really appeared in jeopardy.

“I think their defense frustrated us a little,” Ward said.

Greco didn’t think, she knew.

“Frustrated is a perfect word to describe it,” Greco said.