SOUTHERN SECTION ROUNDUP: DENO'S 38 HELPS C.V. ADVANCE.

Byline: Daily News

Jeanine Deno said the pressure of starting for the Crescenta Valley girls' basketball team as a freshman hasn't bothered her since the earlier part of the season. She backed up that assertion Saturday night, scoring a career-high 38 points to lead the Falcons to a 60-54 Southern Section Division I-AA playoff victory over host Palmdale.

Crescenta Valley (16-11) trailed 49-45 midway through the fourth quarter but outscored Palmdale 15-5 in the closing minutes.

``We knew we had to step it up in the fourth quarter and we did,'' said Deno, who scored 16 of Crescenta Valley's 20 fourth-quarter points.

Teiosha George and Judy Collier scored 18 points apiece for Palmdale (17-10).

- Gideon Rubin

--Oaks Christian 61, Highland Hall 36: Cherhara Shields scored a game- high 26 points as the third-seeded Lions of Westlake (19-7) opened up a 30-point second-half lead and cruised to the Division V-A second-round victory over the Hawks of Northridge (13-8).

The game was scheduled to be at Highland Hall, but the school could not secure a gym, so the teams agreed to play at Oaks Christian, and the game was decided early. Bolstered by a full-court pressure defense, the Lions forced 19 first-half turnovers and built a 34-11 halftime lead.

-Rich Hammond

--Valencia 65, Righetti 43: The Vikings (21-6) used stifling defense to advance with a victory over Righetti (11-13) in a Division I-AA playoff game.

Valencia employed a full-court press throughout the game that led to numerous turnovers and easy baskets. The backcourt tandem of Valerine Pina - who had five assists and four steals - and Rashae' Minor - who scored 10 points and had five steals - helped disrupt the Warriors.

The inside duo of Marissa Meadows and Stephanie Patterson controlled the paint. Patterson had 20 points and Meadows had 14 points and six rebounds. Stacy Crump led Righetti with 17 points.

- Steve Goldstein

--Montclair Prep 61, Bell-Jeff 42: One year removed from scoring 43 points against Bell-Jeff of Burbank in a wild-card game, Eshaya Murphy was at it again as she poured in 34 points to lead the undefeated Mounties of Van Nuys (23-0) in a Division V-AA first-round game at Montclair Prep.

Murphy, only a sophomore, also collected 11 rebounds and three steals, and teammate Jasmine Wesley contributed 12 points, 11 rebounds and three steals.

Bell-Jeff (14-13), which lost to the Mounties for the second consecutive year to end its season, was led by Jennae Peoples, who had 10 points. Leading scorer Ana Coronado was held to eight points for the Guards.

Montclair Prep, having its best season in school history, jumped out to a 12-point lead at the half and then broke the game open in the fourth quarter as Murphy was hitting from inside and outside.

- Jack Pollon

--Newbury Park 64, San Luis Obispo 61: Newbury Park's Alex Mallen led all scorers with 16 points as the Panthers advanced to the second round of the Division II-A playoffs with a win over the Tigers at Newbury Park.

Mallen's two free throws with 13.3 seconds left on the clock ended a San Luis Obispo surge in which the Tigers clawed their way back from a 10-point third-quarter deficit. Mallen scored six points from the line in the fourth, keeping the Panthers just ahead going into the final seconds. Bryn Cameron and Cassandra Harris, starters for the Panthers, fouled out in the fourth, but strong play from Nancy Pabon and Rachel Hever made up for the loss.

The Tigers had two shots from 3-point range but missed the mark in the waning seconds as the Panthers held on for the win. San Luis Obispo finished the season 18-6 after a second-place finish in the Northern league and a wild-card win over Clover City last Wednesday night. Newbury Park improves to 21-7.

- Stephen Collins 

--Antelope Valley 58, Corona 40: Chrissy Fox scored 15 points, grabbed nine rebounds, had five steals and dished out four assists to lead the Antelopes (24-3) over the Panthers (17-10) in Division I-A second-round game at Corona.

Antelope Valley jumped out to a 31-20 halftime lead thanks to an 18-2 second-quarter run. Fox scored nine points during the stretch and Crystal McCutcheon scored six points.

Courtney Rainer led Corona with nine points, but it was not enough to offset Antelope Valley's pressure defense. The Antelopes forced 18 turnovers that led to 16 fast-break points.

McCutcheon finished the game with 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Shawna Mosely came off the bench to score 11 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed five rebounds for Antelope Valley.

- Rob Moscato 

--Oak Park 69, Louisville 40: The Royals of Woodland Hills had visions of an upset at the end of the first quarter. But soon after, the Eagles stepped on the accelerator and cruised to the easy victory in a Division IV-AA game at Oak Park.

It would be easy to say it was the Michelle Bregar show, who scored a game-high 27 points for Oak Park. But that would do a disservice to a great team effort by the Eagles.

Oak Park's combination of outside shooting and rebounding were too much for the overmatched Royals (14-11).

- Christian Kinney

--La Canada 51, Corona del Mar 34: Kim Gilmour finished with 17 points and seven rebounds to lead the Spartans (17-10) to a Division III-AA victory at La Canada.

Gilmour was held scoreless in the first quarter but heated up in the second, scoring 11 points to secure a 23-17 halftime advantage for the Spartans.

Lauren Guza scored 12 points and had five assists and Vicky Carsons grabbed 10 rebounds for the Spartans.

Corona del Mar (14-13) was paced by Kristin McCoy, who scored six points and had four steals.

- Bryan Schackmann

--Chaminade 53, San Dimas 49: Chaminade sophomore Christina Zdenek scored a game-high 20 points to help propel the Eagles (20-5) over San Dimas (21-8) in a Division III-AA second-round matchup at Chaminade.

Zdenek also pulled down eight rebounds to go with five steals. A 6-0 run by the Eagles to start the fourth quarter gave Chaminade a 15-point lead. San Dimas hit two 3-pointers in the closing minutes to pull within four points, but it was too little too late.

-Tim Conway

--Buckley 51, Downey Calvary Chapel 50: Baha Maleki had 34 points but it was her free throw with eight seconds left that secured the victory for the Griffins of Sherman Oaks (13-9) in a Division V-AA game.

--Hillcrest Christian (GH) 53, Grace Brethren 34: Felicia Martino had 18 points for Hillcrest (18-5) in a Division V-AA game at Hillcrest Christian.

--Flintridge Prep 42, Western Christian 40: Shari Quan had 10 points and seven rebounds for the Rebels of La Canada (16-6), who rallied for the Division V-AA win at Flintridge Prep.

--St. Joseph 62, Providence 31: The Pioneers of Burbank were hampered by poor offensive performances in the first and third quarters, scoring two and three points, respectively, in those periods in a Division IV-A loss at Providence.

LEADERS

--Jeanine Deno (Crescenta Valley) 38 pts.

--Eshaya Murphy (Montclair Prep) 34 pts.

--Michelle Bregar (Oak Park) 27 pts., 13 rebs.

--Cherhara Shields (Oaks Christian) 26 pts.

--Gracie Coronado (Burroughs) 26 pts.

--Stephanie Patterson (Valencia) 20 pts.

--Elizabeth Cantwell (Moorpark) 20 pts.

--Natalia Worth (Moorpark) 19 pts.

--Christine Nadas (Moorpark) 16 pts., 15 rebs.

--Karina Siam (Harvard-Westlake) 18 pts.

CAPTION(S):

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Box: LEADERS (see text)