Burroughs girls’ basketball defeats Burbank, finishes tied for second in league
BURBANK — The Burroughs High and Burbank girls’ basketball teams suffered disappointment Thursday evening.
On a positive note, the Indians defeated the host Bulldogs, 37-22, in their Pacific League finale.
The win avenged a 48-43 loss for Burroughs at the hands of Burbank in the teams’ first meeting Jan. 20.
Burroughs (17-11, 8-4 in league) needed the win to remain in a hunt for the league championship. However, the Indians also needed Arcadia to defeat Crescenta Valley on Thursday to get them a share of the championship. But the Falcons (17-9, 9-3) defeated the Apaches, 47-44, to claim the title for their own.
It snapped the Indians’ string of four straight league titles.
Burroughs finished the regular season tied for second with Pasadena (21-9, 8-4).
“Each year, each team has a different challenge and this year’s team had a difficult challenge,” Burroughs Coach Vicky Oganyan said. “There were many times this season where they could have easily quit, but they didn’t and they kept playing and coming back.
“It’s not just about the league title. My past teams have won league titles and I’m proud of them in a different way. I’m proud of this group for being able to bounce back and I know they are always going to fight.”
With Glendale’s 59-23 win Thursday against Hoover, the Nitros (16-12, 7-5) finished fourth and claimed the last automatic playoff berth for the CIF Southern Section playoffs.
Burbank (14-15, 5-7) finished tied for fifth place with Arcadia (14-11, 5-7). What is heartbreaking for the Bulldogs is they came up one game shot of the .500 record required to petition for an at-large berth in the playoffs.
“It’s tough to come that close and miss it by one,” Burbank Coach John Wells said. “Things were tough in our league this year. We lost a couple of games at the buzzer and one win here and one win there would have made the difference.
“It’s tough to fall short, especially in the last game of the season and it’s also tough for the nine seniors that we have on the team. But this team fought and hustled all season and I am very proud of them for that.”
It was a tough Burroughs defense that made things difficult for Burbank throughout the game. The Bulldogs also struggled with their shooting, which opened the door for the Indians.
Burroughs was led by senior Jocelyn Rieken, who had a game-high 14 points, and senior Kamryn Cardenaz chipped in with 11. Junior Marin Grote had six rebounds.
Burbank had no players in double figures, with sophomore Osanna Tirityan leading the squad with seven points, while senior Emma Kerr added six before fouling out with four minutes left in the game.
It was a defensive struggle early, as Burroughs held an 8-5 lead after the first quarter. The Indians increased their advantage to 23-11 at the half.
Burbank, which missed nine free throws in the game, converted just three of 20 shots from the field in the first half.
Burroughs still led by 11 through three quarters, 29-18.
“I just knew we had to put everything out there on the floor tonight,” Rieken said. “The loss to them last time hurt so bad, like my heart was ripped out of my body. I think we all felt bad losing to them the first time and we didn’t want to do that again.”
