Burroughs Girls Basketball Blasts Host Hoover

Mariam Fahs leads the way for the Bears who beat the Tornadoes 55-13 in a Pacific League game.

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Mariam Fahs (No. 10) led Burroughs with a game-best 18 points in a 55-13 win over host Hoover. (Photo by Rick Assad)

By Rick Assad

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, the Burroughs High girls’ basketball team was off and running at the start and never looked back against host Hoover on Friday night.

A 23-point opening quarter was the perfect springboard to a 55-13 Pacific League triumph as senior guard Mariam Fahs led all scorers with 18 points including 14 points in the first period.

“Mariam had a great game and great energy,” longtime Burroughs coach Vicky Oganyan said.  

Leading by 18 points heading to the second quarter, the Bears (13-6 and 1-0 in league) employed a rugged defense from the get-go that clogged the passing lanes and didn’t allow much penetration in the paint.

The Tornadoes (7-8 and 0-1 in league) committed turnover after turnover which led in many cases to easy baskets.

“We were a little rusty. You could tell we haven’t played a game in nine days,” Oganyan pointed out. “We played better as the game went on.”

Fahs is the clear leader on the floor and has been playing with confidence after finishing with 11 rebounds and six steals.

“I saw a good team effort in our full-court trap, getting us steals which led us scoring,” she said. “We also played disciplined defense and took whatever opportunity they gave us. We didn’t force the game.”

Fahs came out red-hot in the first quarter.

“Offensively we had good ball movement and looked for the best shot,” she said. “We had good hustle and rebounding.”

On the evening, Burroughs, which shot 37.2 percent on 22 of 59, collected 45 rebounds to 31 for Hoover.

Beside Fahs, nine other Burroughs players scored including junior guard Alyssa Pracha who accounted for seven second-half points.

Junior guard Gabriella Buendia scored six points after hitting two three-pointers.

Hoover, which shot 13.8 percent on five of 36, was limited to three points in the second half after shooting five percent on one of 20.

The Tornadoes were paced by freshman small forward Aileen Nazaryan with four points and senior point guard/shooting guard Irene Musayelyan was next with three points after nailing a trey in the opening period.

The Bears scored 10 points in the second frame and led 33-10 as Buendia and junior guard Elizabeth Amoroso each canned a three-pointer.

Another 10-point period followed as Pracha scored four points and sophomore guard Jessica Mena added a three-point shot.

Sophomore center Polina Gorgeiz tallied six points in the fourth quarter. Freshman guard Isabella Amayakyan tallied four points in the opening quarter.

Junior center Valentina Morales added three points, junior guard Anna Phillips nailed a three-pointer in the initial period and senior forward Ella Anderson tacked on two points in the second quarter.

Burroughs will finish its suspended game against Crescenta Valley on Tuesday at 5:15 p.m.