Falcons Aim to Avoid Costly Slip

Crescenta Valley High, top-seeded in Division I-AA, had its ingenuity tested this week.

The fierce storm that blew through the region Monday led to the discovery of at least four leaks in the roof of the Falcons’ gymnasium.

Chairs were placed on the floor where puddles developed, and practice was limited to one basket off the main court.

“We didn’t want to risk anything,” All-American guard Michelle Greco said. “Our season is too valuable for a Sinnamonn [Garrett] or Tara [Gregory] to slip and go down with an ankle injury or something.”

Not to mention Greco, who last season carried the Falcons to the Division I-A final, averaging 34 points in the playoffs. Crescenta Valley (23-2) plays a second-round game tonight at Bell Gardens.

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Keith Case left a job at Oak Park to become coach at Notre Dame.

But he wasn’t able to ditch Santa Ynez, which is seeking its 10th consecutive appearance in a section final.

Last season, Santa Ynez routed a Case-coached Oak Park team, 77-28, in a first-round playoff game. Tonight, Case and Notre Dame host the Pirates in a Division III-A quarterfinal.

“For us, playing Santa Ynez is a lot like looking in the mirror, only they’re taller,” Case said. “Actually, I guess that means it’s a lot like looking in a circus mirror.”

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St. Bonaventure (17-7) is another team attempting to conquer a dynasty. The Seraphs host Cerritos Valley Christian tonight in a Division IV-A quarterfinal.

Valley Christian won five consecutive section titles before falling to Bell-Jeff in a final last year.

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Santa Clara has enjoyed a resurgence under fourth-year Coach Sherri Cvijanovich and is in the playoffs for the second consecutive season. The Saints (12-11) host Pilgrim (19-7) tonight in a second-round Division V-AA game.

Forward Sosanna Hallahan averages 17.3 points, 12.5 rebounds and three steals for Santa Clara.

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Harvard-Westlake advanced to the playoffs for the first time last season, reaching the second round. The Wolverines (23-5), seeded No. 1 in Division III-AA, have higher hopes this time around.

“Our first goal is to do better than we did last year,” said Coach Brian Taylor, whose team travels to Pomona Ganesha (17-8) tonight for a second-round game.

Buena Coach Joe Vaughan normally doesn’t compare scores, but he couldn’t miss the common-opponent scores between the Bulldogs and Righetti, their opponent in a second-round Division I-A game in Santa Maria tonight.

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Grace Brethren didn’t score in the third quarter of its first-round Division V-AA game against Windward but managed a 56-50 overtime victory, the school’s first postseason victory in any sport.

“You talk about nervous . . . they were gone [mentally],” first-year Coach Jeff Geis said of his players. “Big gym, lots of people, cameras flashing. We’re used to bring-your-own chair gyms. We might as well have been playing in the Sports Arena.”

Grace Brethren (19-3) plays top-seeded Lone Pine (22-1) today at Simi Valley High.

Times staff writer Tris Wykes and correspondents Dave Desmond and Mike Bresnahan contributed to this notebook.