Burbank Girls Hoops Edges Host Hoover 40-36

Lauren Navarro and Taliyah Herdsman each scored 11 points for the Bulldogs in a four-point victory over the Tornadoes.

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Burbank played well enough to beat host Hoover 40-36. (Photo by Rick Assad)

By Rick Assad

Behind senior center Lauren Navarro and senior power forward Taliyah Herdsman each scoring 11 points for a combined 22, the Burbank High girls’ basketball team was able to slip past host Hoover 40-36 on Monday night in a Pacific League game.

The Bulldogs saw the Tornadoes rally late after being down 30-23 after three periods.

Herdsman’s three-pointer in the waning moments of the fourth quarter put more than enough distance between the two teams and secured the victory.

Burbank (14-10 and 3-3 in league) wouldn’t be denied against a scrappy Hoover (8-12 and 1-5 in league) squad and is playing significantly better than last year.

It seems that under first-year Burbank coach Alexa Mirzaian, who played basketball at Crescenta Valley, has the Bulldogs headed in the right direction.

On Wednesday night at 5:15 p.m., Burbank will host rival Burroughs.

No player from Hoover, which shot 26.1 percent on 11 of 42 from the field, scored in double figures but senior point/shooting guard Irene Musayelyan had a team-best nine points and scored in the first, second and third quarters, but not the fourth and also made seven free throws.

Senior power forward Taliyah Herdsman scored a co-game-best 11 points including a clinching three-pointer late in the fourth quarter for the Bulldogs. (Photo by Rick Assad)

Junior small/power forward Michelle Cline and freshman small forward Aileen Nazaryan both added eight points for the Tornadoes.

Burbank, which drilled 13 of 47 from the floor for 27.6 percent, started fast and led 13-6 after the opening frame.

Four players scored in the period including Navarro, who tossed in two baskets and a free throw for five points and sophomore point/shooting guard Andrea Aparicio added four of her nine points.

In the next period both teams tallied 10 points as Navarro, who made four free throws during the evening, went to work inside scoring four points and sank two free throws and a hoop with 5:07 left for a 19-8 lead.

Once again, each team finished with the same number of points in the next quarter as they both scored seven.

Aparico nailed a three-pointer while Navarro converted two free throws and Herdsman added a bucket.

Hoover’s most productive stanza was the fourth as it outscored Burbank 13-10.

Sophomore Anabelle Setaghian added a trey for her only points and Aparicio and Herdsman both contributed two free throws.

The Tornadoes outrebounded the Bulldogs 48-35 and made 14 of 26 for 53.8 percent from the charity line while Burbank shot 52.3 percent on 11 of 21.

Burbank junior point/shooting guard Yvette Soukiazian scored two points in the first quarter.

Sophomore forward Jolene Vartanian added two points in the second quarter for the Bulldogs as did sophomore guard Natalie Megerdichian.