By Rick Assad
Turnovers were at the forefront of the Burbank High girls’ basketball team’s woes when it faced visiting Arcadia on Friday in a Pacific League matchup.
But it wasn’t just turning the ball over that was the problem, it was when the miscues took place, especially during the final few minutes of the game when the outcome wasn’t decided.
As a result, the Bulldogs, after a nice second half rally, fell short and lost, 45-42.
Junior center Tabitha Cruz scored a game-high 18 points for Burbank and junior shooting guard Alle Tarvirdi added 14 points.
The Bulldogs led 22-21 with 7:03 left in the third quarter when Cruz scored a hoop, but the Apaches then went on a 10-2 spurt and marched ahead 31-24 on a bucket with 3:11 left on the clock from sophomore power forward Malaiyah Paulk, who scored five points.
Burbank, which made 17 of 44 from the field for 38.6 percent, trailed 37-30 heading into the fourth quarter and couldn’t quite get over the hump.
A hoop from sophomore power forward Karen Casillias, which was her only basket, trimmed Arcadia’s advantage to 38-36 with about five minutes remaining on the clock and came within 42-38 on a basket from Tarvirdi with 4:08 left.
The match was knotted at 42-42 on Cruz’s bucket with 16 seconds showing, but the Apaches scored the next three points to seal the victory.
Burbank coach Jett Del Mundo knows his club is much better than what was on display versus the Apaches.
“Horrible turnovers,” he said. “Poor offensive execution, lack of ball movement, poor basketball IQ with time and situations.”
Senior point guard Kim Pimentel also thinks the team played poorly, but will rebound after this setback.
“Our team is capable of playing hard for all four quarters, but today we played good basketball in spurts,” said Pimentel, who scored two points, but assisted on a number of hoops. “The team played hard in the second half, but we couldn’t catch up for the mistakes that were made in the first half of the game.”
Pimentel has faith that the Bulldogs will play better for the rest of the campaign.
“I believe our team-game has improved drastically, yet our momentum in today’s game was a little slow,” she said. “Nonetheless, we are ready for our game tomorrow and excited to play,” she said.
The Bulldogs will host South Pasadena on Saturday in a nonleague clash and a 3:00 p.m. tip-off.
The Bulldogs made six of 14 from the free-throw line (42.8 percent), while the Apaches drilled five of 11 (45.4 percent), and outrebounded Arcadia, 28-27.
The Apaches (6-6 and 1-4 in league) took a 12-9 lead after the first quarter as senior point guard Jennifer Chu, who dropped in 10 points at the intermission, contributed four of her team-high 17 points as did sophomore shooting guard Mel Manell, who scored four of her 13 points.
Manell canned four three-pointers, including two from three-point range in the third period.
Junior shooting guard Christina Ohanians scored three of her four points in the opening frame for the Bulldogs (4-5 and 1-4 in league).
Each team scored nine points in the second quarter as Tarvirdi tossed in four points and had six points at the half.
Arcadia, which shot 40.9 percent from the floor on 18 of 44, outscored Burbank 16-12 in the third frame and was led by Manell’s two three-pointers, while Paulk added five points and Chu delivered three points.
Cruz scored eight points in the third period and Tarvirdi contributed four points.
The Bulldogs outscored the Apaches 12-8 in the fourth stanza as Cruz chipped in with six points and Tarvirdi contributed four points.
Chu led the way for Arcadia with four points in the final frame and Manell and senior power forward Jill Krueger each scored two points.
Junior center Jasmine Moss tacked on two points in the fourth quarter for the Bulldogs.
