Providence girls’ basketball clinches outright Liberty League title
CANOGA PARK — It proved to be struggle down the stretch for the Providence High girls’ basketball team, yet it checked a major box among season goals.
Providence wrapped up an outright Liberty League championship Monday with a 32-28 road victory against Canoga Park Benevolent Union despite shooting 12 of 57 (21%) from the floor.
Providence (18-8, 9-1 in league) won the league crown for the eighth time in the last nine seasons and the final one since joining the league in 1990. The Pioneers, ranked sixth in CIF Southern Section Division IV-A, will join the Prep League next season.
“It feels good to win league and it’s something we wanted to accomplish before heading to the Prep League,” said Providence coach Andrew Benzce, whose team won league crowns from 2010-16. “You look back at all of the years we’ve been in the Liberty League and it’s been special and quite a ride.
“We made a lot of relationships and friends with the other schools. It’s been fun to be a part of.”
Providence, which earned a share of the league championship Friday following a win versus Pilibos, held off a late charge by AGBU (7-13, 1-8) to complete the two-game season sweep of the Titans. Providence registered a 47-19 win Jan. 20.
The Pioneers held a 23-18 lead after the third quarter. A steal and layup by Melissa Zozulenko gave the Pioneers a 30-25 lead with 2:30 remaining in the fourth quarter before teammate Sydney Sayoc extended the lead to 32-25 with 2:12 to go.
A three-pointer by AGBU’s Jacqueline Dekermendjian closed out the scoring with 13.2 seconds left.
“I think we did a better job at moving the ball around in the second half,” said Zozulenko, who finished with 11 points, six rebounds and four steals. “We just seemed to force too many shots in the first half.
“It’s great to win league, especially when you have everybody making a contribution.”
Providence senior forward Francesca Maravilla finished with seven points and eight rebounds and won her second league title with the Pioneers.
“It means a lot to win league because it takes a lot of hard work and time,” Maravilla said. “It’s very special being a senior and it being the last Liberty League game for us.”
Providence held a an 8-5 lead after the first quarter before AGBU built a 15-12 halftime advantage.
A three-pointer by Giselle Camonayan gave the Pioneers a 16-15 lead with 5:32 to go in the third quarter. Teammate Ava Yood-Howard made a three-pointer to extend the lead to 23-18 with 14 seconds remaining in the third stanza.
“We struggled with our shooting, but found a way to win while not playing our best,” said Benzce, a former All-Area Girls’ Basketball Coach of the Year. “We’ve had some hard games of late and we were able to get the job done.
“We feel good about ourselves heading into the playoffs.”
Providence, which will close out the regular season with a nonleague contest at Golden Valley on Wednesday, received five points apiece from Camonayan and Yood-Howard.
AGBU got six points each from Dekirmendjian and Ashley Sahnazoglou and 12 rebounds from Colette Kevorkian.
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
