By Rick Assad
There are reasons why it’s not only good but smart to play top-shelf teams in the summer league.
After losing to Mira Costa by 18 points in the Burroughs-Burbank Summer Basketball Tournament, the Bears turned right around and faced Sierra Canyon and lost 52-31 on Friday in a Gold Division matchup.
Like taking your first few steps, so it is with the Burroughs High girls’ hoop team who are taking small steps, but steps nonetheless and even if the final score ends in a loss, the team will get better by the mere fact they will learn from these setbacks.
Leading the scoring parade for the Bears was sophomore point guard Malia Harney with six points.
Sophomore guard/forward Mariam Fahs tacked on five points and Mia Paz also had five points.
Senior guard Rachel Little added four points while sophomore Skylar Cafferty and Izzy Amoroso both tallied three points.
Junior forward Natalie Sanchez and junior guard Karly Geris poured in two points while junior guard/forward Ashley Martin scored a point.
“I want to get better at getting past my defender with a couple of moves, a jump stop and pass instead of trying to score every time,” said Fahs, who last season played with her older sister Noor, who is attending UCLA. “Also, I want to run down the floor faster and wider so that we can score more in transition, and I want to not be scared to shoot threes all the time. I just want to gain confidence. I just want to try to do my best.”
There were a number of things that Fahs liked about her outing despite the loss.
“I think I had some nice putbacks and I also like how I was more patient and did not rush everything,” she said. “In the middle of the game I try to talk to myself and relax.”
The Bears were off target early in the opening half as the only hoop in nine attempts came from Harney and was a three-pointer.
Harney scored another trey and after a miss, Paz scored. Two misfires by the Bears, who made five of 16 for 31.2 percent from the floor in the first half, then saw Amoroso and Little locate the basket.
Sierra Canyon came out strong as it converted four of five from the floor for 80 percent and after three misses, Crystal Wang (nine points) scored.
Christy Reynoso scored 15 points for Sierra Canyon and had 10 points in the opening half as the Trailblazers led 29-14.
Jalen Samuels tossed in 11 points for the Trailblazers and delivered six points in the first half.
Two misses followed, and when Laila Bowens (10 points) put the ball in the hoop with 10:36 left it was 14-3 in favor of Sierra Canyon.
Three consecutive baskets were recorded before missing and three successful shots followed including a trey. Sierra Canyon then missed four straight shots to end the half.
The Bears converted six of 18 for 33.3 percent from the floor in the second half while the Trailblazers made 10 of 24 (41.6 percent).
