Rebels rest, Falcons find familiar foe

GLENDALE — Cruising through its third consecutive undefeated Prep League campaign — resulting in its seventh straight league title — the Flintridge Prep girls’ basketball team was rewarded with with the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye in the CIF Southern Section Division IV-A playoff pairings released on Sunday.

For Crescenta Valley, the fourth-place team out of the Pacific League and only other area girls’ team to qualify for the postseason, the goal is simply to still be alive in Division I-A by the time the Rebels play their second-round game on Saturday.

The Falcons host Valencia at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday in Division I-A’s lone wild-card game for a shot to advance to the first round on Saturday.

Under Coach Kenny Fisher, the Rebels (20-5) advanced to the Division IV-A championship game a year ago.

The road back to another title shot this year begins with a second-round home game at 7:30 on Saturday against either Notre Dame Riverside or Apple Valley Christian.

“I assume it’s going to be [Notre Dame],” said Fisher of the Titans (20-5), the second-place team from the Mountain Pass League. “They’ve got a pretty strong record and they’re in a really tough league.

“We’re gonna go and look at the game [on Thursday], but I’m gonna assume it’s Notre Dame.”

Apple Valley Christian (13-9), the third-place team from the Agape League, visits the Titans, who are ranked 14th in Division IV-A, at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Crescenta Valley’s wild-card game against the 11th-seeded Vikings (17-9), an at-large team from the Foothill League, represents a rematch from last year’s playoffs.

The Falcons (18-9) were defeated, 59-55, by Valencia in the first round.

“I’m happy that we get a home game in the playoffs — that’s big,” Crescenta Valley Coach Jason Perez said. “Valencia is really, really good. ...They’ve got some real good shooters and they run and gun and shoot threes.

“We’re gonna have to play them really well.”

A win on Thursday would send the Falcons to a first-round matchup on Saturday at Mission Viejo (16-9), the second-place team from the South Coast League.