La Cañada’s Graves is Rio Hondo League’s MVP

A historic season of firsts certainly included some postseason spoils for the La Cañada High girls’ basketball team in regards to the Rio Hondo League awards list.

Senior center Amber Graves was selected as the Rio Hondo League Most Valuable Player, while the Spartans enjoyed four selections to the first and second teams and two honorable mentions.

“It really means a lot to me to win that award,” said Graves, who was selected to the All-CIF Southern Section Division III-A second team. “It means that all the hard work has paid off.

“I’m definitely aware that this is an award voted on by the league coaches and I’m really grateful that they recognized my talent and respected that I was deserving.”

Graves averaged 11.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per contest for the Rio Hondo League champion Spartans.

“Amber brings so much more to the team beyond her athleticism and scoring,” La Cañada first-year Coach Sarah Beattie said. “Her stats speak for herself, but honestly it’s more than that. Whether she’s scoring 20 points in a game or five, her presence on the court has a calming effect on the team. She was our MVP.”

Graves was part of a fantastic Spartans squad that led the area in wins as it finished 29-5 and 10-0 in league. La Cañada also posted a 6-2 postseason record that included advancement to the program’s first-ever CIF championship game as the Spartans qualified to the Division III-A title game, where they were beaten by Antelope Valley, 59-46.

La Cañada rebounded from that loss to win three games in the CIF State Division IV playoffs before falling in the Southern California Regional Championship again to Antelope Valley, 66-51.

A pair of juniors represented the Spartans on the league’s first team, as guard Alexi Nazarian and forward Zoe Williams each earned a spot.

Nazarian was La Cañada’s steady distributor and averaged 7.4 points per game.

“Alexi is our unsung hero,” Beattie said. “She played point guard for us and averaged 10 points per game during league. I’m just really happy that the league coaches recognized just how valuable she was to the team.”

Williams was also chosen an All-CIF Division III-A first-team pick after averaging 11.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals per game.

“Having Zoe and Amber down low, you don’t get much better than that,” Beattie said. “During the league season, Zoe was the toughest person to defend against. She really stood out in that regard.”

La Cañada’s Kurdoghlian cousins were both selected to the all-league second team as senior Sarah averaged 9.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and two steals per contest and was an All-CIF Division III-A second-team pick, while junior Kristina, an All-CIF first-team pick, averaged 6.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, three assists and two steals per game.

Spartans sophomore forward Georgia Cervenka (4.2 rebounds per game) and freshman guard Brooke Yasuda (3.1 points per game) were tabbed as league honorable mentions.

“It was a really fun year and certainly stressful at certain times, but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Beattie said. “I’m really proud of these kids and I think the future is bright next year.”