Furious rally falls short for Providence girls’ basketball
BURBANK — Put the celebration on hold.
The Providence High girls’ basketball team looked to win the Liberty League championship Tuesday night when it met rival Holy Martyrs. The Pioneers’ bid to win an eighth league crown in nine seasons hit a speed bump by way of shooting woes.
Providence nearly overcame its shooting struggles with a frantic fourth-quarter rally before suffering a 39-36 home defeat.
Providence (17-6, 7-1 in league) will try again to clinch the league championship at home against Pilibos at 6 p.m. Friday. Holy Martyrs (16-8, 7-2) is still within earshot of winning a second straight league title.
“We just struggled with our shooting, especially in the first half,” said Providence coach Andrew Benzce, whose team trailed 35-20 after three quarters and is ranked fourth in CIF Southern Section Division IV-A. “We wanted to get it done, but we were sluggish.
“I liked the way we played in the second half and we gave ourselves a chance in the end. It’s just tough to dig yourself out of a hole like that against a very good team.”
Holy Martyrs held a 39-36 lead with 19.6 seconds left after Sarine Kazandjian made one of two free throws. Providence called timeout with 14.7 seconds remaining and nearly turned the ball over at midcourt. Providence recovered the ball and called timeout with 1.1 seconds to go. The Pioneers inbounded the ball to Meilssa Zozulenko, whose three-point shot hit the bottom of the net as time expired.
“We just ran out of time,” said Zozulenko, who finished with a team-high 21 points and six rebounds. “It would have been a little better if I had been closer to the basket.
“We just couldn’t get things going in the first half and we just need to communicate a little louder, especially in a loud building.”
Providence, which missed all 12 of its shots from the floor in the first quarter, tried to overtake the talented Armens in the fourth quarter. Providence, which registered a 40-21 win against Holy Martyrs on Jan. 18, limited Holy Martyrs to four points in the fourth quarter. A pair of free throws by Zozulenko cut the deficit to 38-36 with 22.3 seconds remaining.
Holy Martyrs held an 11-2 lead after the first quarter and Providence didn’t make its first shot from the floor until Zozulenko scored on a scoop shot with 6:44 to go in the second quarter to make it 16-4.
The Pioneers received 10 points and four steals from Sarah Cox.
Holy Martyrs got 14 points and six steals from Kazandjian, nine points, nine rebounds and three blocks from Marinor Balouzian and eight points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals from Christine Samuelian. Kazandjian made three three-pointers, including one that gave the Armens a 31-16 lead with 3:44 to go in the third quarter.
“We’ll try to come back Friday and take care of business,” Benzce said. “Hopefully, we’ll be better.
“It’s good to get a challenge like this, especially against Holy Martyrs. We’ll see how we respond next game.”
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
