Rebels Run Into CIF Playoffs

GLENDALE — The Flintridge Prep girls’ basketball team hopes this year is its year.

The Rebels got a boost in the right direction when they received the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the CIF Southern Section Division IV-A playoffs.

In addition to Flintridge Prep, area squads Crescenta Valley, Hoover and Glendale will all be making postseason appearances with the release of Sunday’s playoff brackets.

The Rebels will get two extra days of rest as their first game will come on Saturday against the winner of Thursday’s Duarte-Banning game.

“It’s always good to be seeded highly,” Rebels Coach Kenny Fisher said. “We’re a year older and a year more mature. That should help us more than anything else.”

After finishing off a season that included the team’s sixth straight Prep League title, including going undefeated in league play, the Rebels seem poised for a deep run in the playoffs.

“[The girls] are ready to go,” Fisher said. “They’ve been ready for a while.”

Another team ready to go is Crescenta Valley. After finishing third in the Pacific League, the Falcons(14-13) will go on the road and face off against the Foothill League runner-up and No. 7 seed, Valencia (18-7), in Saturday’s Div. I-A first-round matchup.

Winners of their last three, the Falcons hope some of that momentum carries into the playoffs.

“We don’t have to [travel] far, and that’s a good thing,” Crescenta Valley Coach Jason Perez said. “We didn’t win enough games to earn a home game.”