Umemoto and Greco Too Much for Chino

THOUSAND OAKS â€”  While playing in several tough tournaments, the Chino High girls’ basketball team has beaten a few strong teams.

Crescenta Valley, however, is not one of them.

Michelle Greco scored 21 points in three quarters and Kristie Umemoto added 18 points to help the Falcons rout the Cowboys, 62-16, in the semifinals of the Thousand Oaks tournament Tuesday night at Thousand Oaks High.

The Falcons will play Arroyo Grande in the title game Friday night.

Crescenta Valley (9-1), the top-ranked team in The Times’ regional poll, used a 20-0 run over the last two minutes of the first quarter and the first 3 1/2 minutes of the second to extend a 5-4 edge and wrest control of the game from a Chino team that made it to the tournament final last year.

The Cowboys reached the final of a tournament in Sacramento earlier this season before falling to Berkeley.

Chino has beaten Florin, one of the seeded teams in Ayala High’s Best of the West tournament, defeated Santa Barbara in the Santa Barbara tournament, and bested third-ranked North Hollywood on Monday night.

None of that mattered against Crescenta Valley, which suffered its only loss against New York Christ The King, the top-ranked team in the country.

The Falcons used a combination of zone defense and a half-court trap to force Chino (7-6) into 24 turnovers.

Greco made 10 of 15 shots before leaving the game for good with 39 seconds left in the third quarter.

“We came out and played really well,� said Greco, who has been battling the flu. “I feel a lot better. I felt real focused tonight and I was able to do some of the things I like to do.�

Umemoto, a 5-foot-3 guard, made four of six three-point shots.

Sinnamonn Garrett added 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Arroyo Grande 46, Thousand Oaks 31--Elena Salvador scored 10 points and Liz Nesbitt had eight for the Lancers, but Thousand Oaks (7-2) fell in another semifinal game.

Erin Richardson had 12 points and Katherine O’Halloran scored 11 for Arroyo Grande (12-1).

Bakersfield 64, Rio Mesa 61--Kyelynn Chiong scored 10 points in the fourth quarter and the Spartans rallied from a 20-point deficit but came up short in a consolation game.

Rio Mesa (5-4) cut a 49-29 deficit to one point three times in the last two minutes.

Tosha Thomas made four free throws in the final 14 seconds and finished with 26 points for Bakersfield (7-4).

North Hollywood 52, Palmdale 28--Richell Sherman and Tashean Thomas sparked a 13-1 third-quarter run that helped the Huskies (12-1) break open a close game in the consolation bracket.

Sherman scored six of her eight points in the third quarter and Thomas had five of her seven points.

Santa Monica 66, Oxnard 49--Michelle Morgan, Tina Samaniego and Sara Wilkins each scored 11 points but the Yellowjackets (1-8) fell in a consolation game.