By Rick Assad
Every player that suited up for the Burroughs High girls’ basketball game versus Muir at Brian Hurst gym was given playing time.
After building an early 20-0 lead heading to the second quarter and then seeing the advantage get built up to 33 points at halftime in a Pacific League game on Friday night, longtime coach Vicky Oganyan emptied her bench en route to a 56-13 decision that was played with a running clock in the fourth quarter.
“We did a good job applying some of the concepts we were working on in practice,” she said. “The kids played hard and we shared the ball and made team plays.”
Burroughs should have a more difficult game on Tuesday evening when Crescenta Valley comes visiting the Bears.
Throughout much of the game, the Mustangs had a tough time getting the ball past midcourt and couldn’t find the range on their shots.
Isabella Roderick was the game’s leading scorer with 11 points as the senior center tallied all of her points in the first half.
Sophomore point guard Skylar Cafferty added seven first-half points that included two three-pointers and junior forward Ashley Martin chimed in with six points and also picked up six rebounds.
Cafferty’s second converted three-pointer came with 5:45 remaining in the second period and handed the Bears a 27-0 edge.
Freshman guard Grace Barton collected five points that included a three-pointer in the first quarter for the Bears (15-9 and 9-1 in league).
Senior point guard Ivana Razov scored four points but also added five boards and three assists.
The Bears, who shot 44 percent on 22 of 50 from the floor, came out in the opening period and made seven of 20 shots for 35 percent as Roderick scored six points in the frame while the Mustangs (14-9 and 3-7 in league) missed on all nine attempts.
Roderick added five points in the second quarter as Burroughs converted seven of 16 for 43.7 percent from the field while Muir found the range on one of seven for 14.2 percent and scored four points.
Six Bears’ players scored in the third period including senior guard Rachel Little who nailed a three-pointer as the team made six of 10 for 60 percent.
“The game was really fun today because there was energy on the bench and on the court,” she said. “It felt like an overall good environment which made the win even better.”
In that same period, the Mustangs, who made five of 33 for 15.1 percent, added another four points and trailed 50-8 after making two of 11 for 18.1 percent from the floor.
Freshman center Valentina Morales came off the bench and tossed in four points in the fourth quarter to pace the Bears while junior guard Karla Geris added two points.
Junior guard Natalie Sanchez accounted for four points for the Bears and her basket with 3:21 left in the third period gave Burroughs a 46-8 advantage.
Freshman point guard Malia Harney’s three-pointer was made with 4:50 left in the first period for a 9-0 lead.
Burroughs senior guard Kayla Indefenzo contributed a three-point shot in the second period and sophomore guard Mariam Fahs scored two points in the first quarter.
“I liked the confidence we had and the ball movement was really good,” Fahs said. “We took good shots and played well as a team. The energy on the bench was really good and that gave the players more confidence to shoot the three-pointers.”
The Mustangs were paced by senior forward Naj Harding who scored four points as did sophomore guard Amari Wilson.
Burroughs made seven three-pointers while Muir drilled one by sophomore guard Ari Lowe in the fourth quarter.
