Burbank girls’ basketball stuns Burroughs
BURBANK — Allow Burbank High’s girls’ basketball team to make a strange week stranger for Burroughs and the rest of the Pacific League.
In what has been a seven-day stretch of remarkable streaks by the Burroughs program being halted — starting with its 45-game league winning being snapped the previous Friday — the cross-town Bulldogs pulled off another stunner as they defeated the Indians, 48-43, Friday night in front of a capacity crowd at Burroughs High.
The win marked the first for Burbank in the rivalry since the 2012-13 season, while also snapping Burroughs’ home-winning streak over Pacific League opponents at 27, with its last home loss coming to Arcadia on Jan. 16, 2013.
Further, and more pressing as the second half of the league season looming, Burroughs’ superiority over the rest of the league has waned, as the Indians have now lost two league games in the same season for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign. The loss dropped Burroughs into a four-way tie for first place along with Crescenta Valley, Glendale and Pasadena, while Burbank is in a tie for fifth with Arcadia a game behind the first-place logjam.
“It’s a rivalry game, but it’s also just another game,” first-year Bulldogs Coach John Wells said.
Burroughs’ Coach Vicky Oganyan also didn’t get into recent history, instead focusing on present time.
“We gotta show up every night,” said Oganyan, who has guided the Indians to four straight Pacific League titles. “Any team can beat anyone on any night.”
As it is more often than not when Burbank (11-11, 3-3) and Burroughs (12-9, 4-2) meet, Friday night’s contest was close throughout, with defense being the key on both ends.
Perhaps the game would have gotten away quickly from Burbank if not for sophomore Osanna Tirityan, who scored 12 of the team’s 14 first-half points and finished with a game-high 28 points. Kamryn Cardenaz Burroughs with 18 points
The first half saw four ties and two lead changes, with Burroughs taking the lead early in the second quarter and maintaining it until Burbank’s Emma Kerr gave the Bulldogs a one-point lead with 20 seconds left in the third quarter.
It would set up a frantic fourth quarter.
If Tirityan and Kerr kept the Bulldogs in the game through the first three quarters, combining to score all 30 points, it was others like Ani Sarkisyan and Sabrina Zakarian who helped secure the win with big plays in the fourth quarter.
Sarkisyan hit clutch free throws down the stretch in what became a game that was going to be decided at the stripe. The final 14 points of the game came via free throws.
The senior captain’s layup early in the fourth gave the Bulldogs a 32-31 lead that would not be relinquished. Burbank led by as many as five in the frame with Burroughs staying within striking distance.
The Indians drew to within 40-38 on a Cardenaz basket.
The exciting final quarter would also see myriad fouls, resulting in the trips to the line, ultimately benefiting Burbank, which was able to hit at least one of two on each of its seven trips, to maintain the cushion and secure the victory.
The seventh trip was the result of the game’s biggest rebound and perhaps its biggest play when Tirityan offensive-rebounded a missed free throw and was fouled going up. She would ice the game with two free throws for the game’s final two points.
“They have heart, they played hard and they keep playing,” Wells said. “When we trust each other we’re tough to beat.”
Tirityan echoed the sentiments: “I trust my teammates. When I don’t have the open shot I look for them.”
The sophomore also wasn’t rattled by the atmosphere.
“Not letting the crowd get to me and playing my game,” when asked about her mindset going into a rivalry game.
Burroughs was outscored by nine points in the second half.
“I wasn’t pleased with the defense,” Oganyan said. “We had a game plan and we didn’t execute. I feel like this game’s on me because I didn’t put the team in a position to be successful.”
The teams will meet again on Feb. 9 at Burbank to close out the season.