Tough playoff road ahead for locals
GLENDALE - For the half-dozen local girls’ basketball teams that made it to the playoffs, the release of their respective divisions’ playoff pairings on Sunday unveiled a difficult road ahead.
Crescenta Valley High, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, Holy Family Glendale, Glendale Adventist Academy are all headed for first-round road games, while Flintridge Prep, perhaps surprisingly, was the only local to be rewarded with a home game on Thursday evening, but will go in as the likely underdog.
“You’ve got nothing to lose at this point,” said Nitros Coach Tania Adary, whose team likely entertains the most arduous first-round draw as Glendale will travel to face second-seeded Buena in the opening round of the CIF Southern Section Division 2-AA playoffs. “You throw what you’ve got out there.”
Glendale (14-12), which will take to the road on Thursday for a 7 p.m. start as with all other first-round games, takes on a Buena team that won the Channel League and boasts a 20-6 record. Buena is also the same team that defeated Glendale in the first round in 2009, the last time the Nitros made it to the playoffs. The winner of Thursday’s game will face either Thousand Oaks or University on Saturday.
Sacred Heart goes in as the lone local team with a top-16 seed, as the Tologs drew the No. 8 seed, which they take with them for a first-round road game at Alverno. The Horizon League champion brings a 12-4 mark to the Division 5-AA playoffs, as the Tologs have amassed a 15-11 record and received entry into the playoffs as a Mission League at-large squad. The winner will play either ninth-seeded St. Moncia Catholic or Workman.
Flintridge Prep (8-15) earned entry into the Division 4-AA playoffs on the last day of the season by beating Webb and also winning a coin flip to break a tiebreaker with Westridge to be the fourth-place entrant from the Prep League. Prep was rewarded Sunday with a home game against Paso Robles (10-15), an at-large team from the PAC 7 League and the No. 12 seed. The winner will take on Rosary, the fifth seed, which received a first-round bye.
In Division 1-A, Crescenta Valley drew Sunshine League champion Marlborough (17-7), the No. 15 seed. The Falcons (13-13), like the Nitros, enter as a Pacific League at-large entrant and are looking to turn around a three-game losing skid. The reward for either CV or Marlborough is a Saturday game against second-seeded Troy.
Holy Family drew the tough task of taking on Delphic League No. 2 Archer (16-6), the sixth seed in Division 5-A. The Gaels (8-11) long ago locked up the No. 2 spot in the Horizon League and should they advance would face either Victory Valley Christian or Mojave.
Finally, in Division 6-AA, Glendale Adventist Academy, the Liberty League’s No. 3 team, will travel to face Tarbut Valley Torah (16-4), the sixth seed and San Joaquin No. 2. The winner will play LA Adventist, which received a first-round bye as the 11th seed.