By Rick Assad
Getting off to a good start was important for the Burbank High girls’ basketball team and it helped catapult the Bulldogs to a decisive 49-23 decision over visiting Providence in a nonleague game on Monday night.
Three Burbank players scored in double figures as the team was ahead after each quarter.
Sophomore guard Andrea Aparicio and sophomore forward Jolene Vartanian each tallied 11 points and senior power forward/center Taliyah Herdsman dropped 10 points.
First-year Burbank coach Alexa Mirzaian was pleased with the determination and grit and was happy to see overall improvement.
“I saw a great team effort tonight and we did a great job executing the game plan,” she noted.
Providence (3-4), which shot 19.1 percent on nine of 47, were led offensively by senior Ariana Najarian, who had a co-game best nine rebounds and one assist with 11 points followed by senior Hayden McGuan, who added five steals, four caroms and three assists with nine points.
Even with the setback, first-year Providence coach Danielle Roumbos feels the team is going to get better with each game.
“The goal for tonight was to just focus on ourselves and to execute. There were definitely moments of great play, but also a lot of things we need to work on,” she said. “We brought up a few of our junior varsity kids to get some valuable game experience. It was an opportunity for our senior core to work on their leadership.”
Aparicio, who scored all of her points in the first half, accounted for five points in the opening quarter while senior center Lauren Navarro (four boards and three steals) added four points for Burbank (6-3), which led 16-6 heading to the second period.
Navarro’s five-foot hoop with 3:35 remaining in the initial quarter saw Burbank, which made 21 of 59 for 35.5 percent, dash in front 7-0.
Aparicio, who finished with three rebounds, two assists and a game-high six steals, continued finding the basket as she tossed in six points in the second quarter as Burbank pulled ahead 29-13 at halftime.
Herdsman’s basket with 5:45 left in the second quarter made it 22-8 in favor of the home team and a three-pointer from senior point guard Leandra Nazarian (four points with two steals and one assist) and 2:15 left on the clock in the same frame made it 27-10.
Herdsman (seven caroms and two steals) along with junior guard Yvette Soukiazian (game-best seven assists, five steals and four rebounds) both scored four points in the third period as the Bulldogs held a 39-20 advantage heading to the fourth quarter.
Vartanian, who grabbed a co-game high nine rebounds, shined in the fourth frame as she accounted for seven points and her hoop with 4:38 remaining made it 44-20 as the Pioneers asked for a time out.
Also scoring for Burbank were sophomore guard/forward Anabelle Setaghian (two assists and a steal) with three points and sophomore guard Natalie Megerdichian (one assist) with two points while senior Natalie Manoukian added three points with one assist and one steal for Providence.
