By Rick Assad
There were layups, mid-range jumpers and long three-pointers made by the Burroughs High girls’ basketball team during the first quarter when it hosted Burbank Friday night in a Pacific League game.
All told, 14 hoops were converted out of 19 and when it was over 34 points had been scored, and for all intents and purposes the game was practically sealed en route to a 61-32 victory before a large and loud crowd.
Like a blitzkrieg, the buckets poured in super-fast as freshman guard Claire Hackney tallied a game-high 14 points, junior guard Mariam Fahs added six and sophomore guard/forward Anna Philips accounted for a three-pointer.
Those three players didn’t score after that eventful first period which saw the Bears (18-2 and 7-1 in league), who now own a six-game winning streak, pull in front 34-8.
“The team was very well prepared to play this rivalry game, and we came in with very strong energy and dominated from the first minute,” Fahs said. “We had really nice possessions where we shared the ball and got a wide-open shot that allowed us to get the early lead.”
Fahs added: “Our trap [defense] got us some nice steals, which led to more transition layups and a big lead for the rest of the game,” she noted.
After missing the first shot, sophomore guard Elizabeth Amoroso, who finished with nine points, nailed a trey, and the show was on.
Two straight hoops were made and after a miss, two baskets were converted.
A pair of misses was followed by back-to-back hoops, a miss was next, followed by a three-pointer from Hackney, who made two in the frame.
The eight-minute stanza was capped off by a string of seven straight hoops.
“It was really good to see us come out and share the ball and execute some of the things we have been working on this last week,” Burroughs coach Vicky Oganyan said of her team. “I’m really proud of the kids and our teamwork.”
The second quarter saw sophomore guard Alyssa Pracha nail three from three-point range and finish with 11 points as the Bears, who made 23 of 53 for 43.3 percent, darted ahead 48-16 at halftime after shooting 58 percent on 18 of 31.
Burroughs’ defense was unrelenting and it caused Burbank to turn the ball over many times.
Still, the Bulldogs (6-14 and 3-5 in league) never gave up and played hard until the final buzzer and were led by senior point guard Nikaela Damasen with eight points, all scored in the fourth period.
“We played really hard. Our effort was there, but our inexperience led to unnecessary turnovers,” Burbank coach Kris Jabourian explained. “That’s the hardest we’ve played, and my coaching staff and I were happy with the effort against one of the best, if not the best, team in our league.”
Junior point guard Leandra Nazarian chipped in with five points for the Bulldogs as did junior power forward Lauren Navarro.
Amoroso chimed in with six of her nine points in the third quarter for the Bears who led 58-22 after three quarters.
The Bulldogs, who shot 25 percent on 10 of 40 from the field, outscored the Bears 10-3 in the fourth period.
Senior guard Ashley Martin tossed in six points including four in the first period for the Bears.
Freshman guard Jessica Mena tacked on five points for the Bears, sophomore center Valentina Morales had four points including two points in the first frame, sophomore guard Gabriella Buendia added two points and senior forward Mia Paz scored one point.
Burbank junior point guard Arevita Keshishyan scored four points, junior shooting guard Emily Galoustian added three points, freshman point guard Andrea Aparicio dropped two points, Yvette Soukiazian tallied two points, Mary Mkretchyan scored two points and junior Lili Okhanyan added one point.
Burroughs hit seven of 13 free throws for 53.8 percent while Burbank hammered six of 12 for 50 percent.
The Bears were also efficient on the backboards as they outrebounded the Bulldogs 46-20.
Burbank will host Burroughs on February 1 with a 5:15 p.m. opening tip-off.
