Burroughs girls’ basketball holds off Buena to win playoff opener
BURBANK — Minutes after the final buzzer, Faith Boulanger was still feeling the effects of a closely contested game.
“By heart is still really pounding,” said the freshman forward for the Burroughs High girls’ basketball. “That was so exciting.”
Although she might have battled some nerves in her first playoff game, it didn’t show with Boulanger’s play of the court.
The freshman stepped up and led the Indians to a 41-38 victory over visiting Buena on Thursday evening in a CIF Southern Section Division II-A first-round playoff game.
Boulanger, who had to play the point when the Indians’ regular point guard got into foul trouble, had a game-high 16 points to go along with nine rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocks.
“At the beginning of the season, I didn’t think we were going to make it this far and, now that we have, it’s great to see,” Boulanger said. “I was kind of nervous when coach had me be point guard, I’m just not used to that at all. I was almost panicking and hoping she would put [Ariana Farias] back in. …It just feels great to win a playoff game and it’s great to see the seniors so happy.”
With the win, Burroughs (22-7), a Pacific League tri-champion, advanced to the second round Saturday to take on host JSerra Catholic. The No. 3 team from the Trinity League, JSerra (20-7) won its first-round game Thursday against El Rancho, 58-43.
The Indians definitely had their struggles against Buena (13-10), which finished third in the Channel League. Burroughs committed 24 turnovers and was six of 15 from the free-throw line.
Burroughs had problems with the Bulldogs’ pressure defense, which produced its share of turnovers.
“We talked about trying to stay calm, but sometimes there’s just no words to describe what a playoff game feels like for freshmen,” said Burroughs coach Vicky Oganyan, who started three freshmen. “I thought that we did good job defensively, which helped us stay in the game. [Buena] has been averaging in the 60s in points, so I was worried about their offense.”
Burroughs received eight points, 12 rebounds and five blocks from senior Marin Grote, seven points from freshman Kayla Wrobel and five assists from Farias, a junior.
The Indians looked to be in control through three quarters, ahead 33-23. But Buena quickly took control in the opening minutes of the fourth, beginning on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 33-31 with 4:34 remaining.
Burroughs finally broke through in the fourth and pushed its lead to 38-34 on a basket by Wrobel with 2:54 left. The Bulldogs were able to cut the advantage to 39-38 with 1:52 left. Buena had several chances to take the lead but three shots over the final minute and a half missed their mark.
With Buena forced to foul, Farias sank one free throw with 49.1 seconds left and Boulanger made one with 10.6 seconds left.
After the made free throw, the Bulldogs brought the ball upcourt for one last attempt, however, the ball was stolen by Farias with two seconds remaining and she held the ball as the time ticked off.
“I thought they handled [the pressure] really well down the stretch,” Oganyan said. “I think also league prepares us for that, because every game is a close matchup.”
Falling behind, 14-9, after the first quarter, Burroughs outscored Buena, 14-7, in the second to take a two-point lead at the half, 23-21.
The Bulldogs suffered through some poor shooting in the third quarter, converting just one of 14 shots from the field and scoring just two points in a 10-2 stanza in favor of the Indians.
Twitter: @jefftsports
