By Rick Assad
Every possession on the basketball court should be handled with delicate care, but 22 turnovers by the Burroughs High girls’ team was simply too many on Tuesday night when it faced visiting Crescenta Valley.
After the Bears leaped to a quick three-point first-quarter lead, they were outscored 48-34 during the rest of the Pacific League match and fell 63-52.
Because of the miscues, the Bears attempted 45 shots from the field while the Falcons (20-5 and 10-1 in league) had 60.
“One of the keys to the game was to limit turnovers and we just had too many that led to transition points,” Burroughs coach Vicky Oganyan said. “But we played hard and competed.”
Oganyan knows just how good the Falcons are and enjoys the competition.
“Give CV credit for their defense and how they played,” she pointed out. “They are a good team and ranked high in our division for a reason.”
Sophomore guard Mariam Fahs tossed in 14 points for the Bears (15-10 and 9-2 in league) and senior forward Isabella Roderick added 12 points and 11 rebounds.
“We competed well but we just didn’t start off strong,” Fahs said. “Our passing caused many turnovers due to the defensive pressure and we couldn’t make a comeback from that.”
There were things that Fahs, who chipped in with six caroms, liked from her team despite the loss.
“We hustled and played hard but struggled when face guarding to keep the ball off of [Kylie Ray], who was their best player,” she said.
The Falcons, who lost at home to the Bears 46-44 in the first game, saw junior guard Ray, finish with a game-best 16 points and senior guard Taleen Krikorian tossed in 13 points.
Ray’s grandfather is one time UCLA basketball head coach Jim Harrick, who guided the Bruins to their last NCAA championship in 1995.
Ray, who is being heavily recruited, so far by 10 colleges and universities, including Brigham Young University and the University of Utah, didn’t score in the first quarter, but tallied 13 points in the second half.
Burroughs, which drilled 19 of 45 for a 42.2 percent, seized an 18-15 advantage in the initial frame behind senior point guard Ivana Razov, who tallied all of her eight points that included a pair of three-pointers in the first period while Fahs accounted for four points.
When junior forward Ashley Martin scored a bucket for her only two points, it sliced Crescenta Valley’s lead to 9-8 with 3:29 left in the first period.
The Falcons outscored the Bears 21-8 in the second quarter as junior guard Lulu Arzoumanian scored seven of her nine points as the visitors had a 36-26 advantage at halftime.
Arzoumanian’s hoop with 3:32 left in the period extended the Falcons’ cushion to 27-21.
The Bears came alive a bit in the third quarter as they tallied 13 points while limiting the Falcons to 11 points as Ray, with Harrick in attendance, scored seven points.
Freshman point guard Malia Harney’s second three-pointer and 4:45 on the clock in the third frame lowered Crescenta Valley’s lead to 42-32.
Sophomore point guard Skylar Cafferty’s three-point shot for her only basket cut the Falcons’ cushion to 42-35 with 2:28 remaining in the period.
An eight-point fourth period by Fahs and a five-point frame from freshman guard Grace Barton helped Burroughs get close.
Ray and senior forward Victoria Prochazka countered for Crescenta Valley, which converted 27 of 60 for 45 percent, as each scored six points.
A bucket from Fahs with 3:23 showing on the clock saw the Bears get to within 57-48.
Despite not scoring, senior guard Rachel Little helped out throughout the game and knows the Bears will bounce back.
“I think the game was just a bump in the road for us,” she said. “Not all games are always going to go our way. We still have games left in the season and I think we’re ready to move forward and keep working.”
Senior guard Kayla Indefenzo added two points in the first period for the Bears.
