Crescenta Valley Can’t Overcome Slow Start

Maybe it was simply a case of adjusting to the opponents’s size and quickness.

Or perhaps jitters.

Whatever the reason, by the time the Crescenta Valley High girls’ basketball team recovered, it was too late.

Despite a second-half comeback, the Falcons lost 56-47 Friday night to Muir in a Pacific League opener.

Crescenta Valley (10-6), which has won three consecutive league titles, watched the Mustangs (11-5) open up a 16-3 lead in the first quarter and stretch it to 33-13 by halftime.

Falcon Coach Allen Freemon said it might have been a case of nervousness.

“I know I was a little nervous,” guard Kristie Umemoto said. “I think we were too excited. We tried to rush it too much instead of taking our time and setting up for plays.”

That was not the case in the second half, when Crescenta Valley’s defense adjusted and Sinnamonn Garrett almost brought her team back.

The Falcons trailed, 43-22, midway through the third quarter before a 17-4 run cut the deficit to 47-39 with 3:50 remaining in the game.

Garrett, who struggled like the rest of her teammates in the first half, regained her typical form by the fourth quarter.

She scored 14 of her game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter, including a jumper that made it 56-49 in the waning seconds.

“We battled back and that was nice to see,” Freemon said. “We battled back from 22 down but we just couldn’t make the big plays to come all the way back.”

Muir Coach Beverly Ball said her team wasn’t as focused in the second half.

“We came out lackadaisical and that wasn’t like we played in the first half,” she said.

With 6-foot-2 sophomore center Tyesha Fluker dominating underneath, the Mustangs had enough to hold off the Falcons.

Fluker finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Jennifer Cleeland led the Mustangs with 14 points, including three three-point baskets.

Laura Zerebko and Umemoto each finished with eight points for Crescenta Valley.

If it’s any consolation for the Falcons, they lost to Muir last season and wound up winning the league with a 9-1 record.

“This was our first league game and I think we can play a lot better than this,” Umemoto said. “I think by later in league we’ll be playing a lot better.”