Despite 30 from Zozulenko, Providence falls to Beverly Hills in overtime
BURBANK — Melissa Zozulenko found a way to lead her team back.
The freshman for the Providence High girls’ basketball team sparked a comeback that had the Pioneers on the verge of an upset.
Taking on No. 1-ranked Beverly Hills, Zozulenko carried the offensive load for Providence to the tune of 30 points. She set up her team for the potential winning shot with seconds left in overtime.
Down by one point and with the ball in Zozulenko’s hands for he final shot, Providence saw its freshman drive the lane and put up a right-handed layup from the left side with one second remaining. But the ball rolled out and the result was a 48-47 nonleague loss at Providence on Tuesday.
“I thought I had a good shot, but thinking about it now I should have gone up with my left hand instead of my right hand,” Zozulenko said.
It was the second 30-point output this season for Zozulenko, who has scored in double digits in all nine of the Pioneers’ games and added six steals Tuesday.
The Pioneers (6-3), ranked No. 5 in CIF Southern Section Division IV-A, were taking on a Beverly Hills (8-2) squad that holds the No. 1 spot in Division III-A.
With the score tied at 47 in overtime, Arbri Gillis sank one free throw with 2:21 left to give the Normans a 48-47 advantage. The teams traded missed shots in the final two minutes, leaving Providence with the final possession with 6.2 seconds left, leading to Zozulenko’s attempt.
“That’s who we wanted to take that last shot,” Providence coach Andrew Bencze said. “She got all the way to the rim and I think she was even surprised that she got that close of a shot.
“With six seconds, we just wanted to put the ball in her hands and let everybody else play off of her. I was happy with the shot that she was able to get off.”
The Pioneers also received seven points and five rebounds form Sarah Cox and six points and eight rebounds from Francesca Maravilla.
Down 41-33 with 4:30 left in the fourth quarter, the Pioneers whittled down the lead. Providence took a 45-44 advantage on a driving layup by Zozulenko with 32 seconds left. Beverly Hills knotted the score at 45 on a free throw with 28 seconds remaining by Natasha Melamed. Both teams had shots in the final seconds but came up empty, prompting overtime.
“We are always a work in progress this time of year and we’re always trying to find ways to get better,” said Bencze, who was missing two players because of injury. “Playing good, tough opponents like this is only going to help us in the long run.
“We wanted to play a good squad and Beverly Hills was definitely a challenge for us. They really played into our weakness, which is a long team that can rebound.”
The Normans held a one-point advantage, 13-12, through one quarter. In the second, the Pioneers missed their first eight shots from the field and that opened the door for Beverly Hills, which led, 23-17. at the half.
Beverly Hills increased its advantage to 35-26 at the 3:43 mark of the third quarter. But the Pioneers clawed back and trailed by just four, 37-33, after three quarters.
Zozulenko scored all 12 of Providence’s points in the fourth quarter.
Twitter: @jefftsports
