Crescenta Valley girls’ basketball outlasts Burroughs in OT
BURBANK — With two key players missing because of illness and three players fouled out, the Crescenta Valley High girls’ basketball team was looking for a spark.
It found that in Georgina Kregorian.
Playing against Burroughs on Friday in Pacific League action, the Falcons squandered an 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter and saw the Indians send the contest into overtime with a basket at the buzzer in regulation.
However, in overtime, Kregorian paved the way to victory, scoring nine of her team’s 11 points to lift Crescenta Valley to a 54-52 win against host Burroughs.
“Georgina really lifted us when we needed it most,” Crescenta Valley coach Jason Perez said. “But she has the ability to do that and she came up big for us before, scoring eight points in the fourth quarter in a win against Glendale.
“We played without our starting center, we played without one of our starting point guards and our second-leading scorer we were without for most of the game because she was in foul trouble. And when we had the three girls foul out, we were down to 5-foot-8 post players going against their 6-foot-4 girl. … But they found a way.”
The win keeps Crescenta Valley (14-4, 5-0 in league), the defending league champion, as the lone undefeated league team. Burroughs falls to 12-]7, 3-2.
The Indians held a 48-47 lead following a basket by senior Marin Grote (15 points, 23 rebounds, three blocks) with 1:29 remaining in overtime. After the score was knotted at 50, the Falcons went ahead, 52-50, on a basket by Kregorian with 44 seconds left. Kregorian, a junior, then sank a pair of three throws with 17.9 left to make it a four-point game, 54-50.
Burroughs got to within 54-52 with six seconds left on a basket with six seconds left by Grore, who had six points in overtime. But Crescenta Valley inbounded the ball and ran out the clock.
“In the overtime we couldn’t be nervous and we had to think things through,” said Kregorian, who finished with 11 points. “We just had to play our hardest on defense and we had to all play together and that’s what we did.
“If it wasn’t for the passes that I got and the other girls getting me the ball, I never would have been able to do what I did.”
The Falcons received 13 points from senior Sarah Perez and 12 points and five rebounds from senor Michelle Boghossian.
The game was tight over the course of the first half, with Burroughs holding an 11-10 lead after the first quarter and Crescenta Valley going up by one at the half, 21-20.
In the third, however, the Indians struggled, converting just one of 14 shots from the field. Burroughs was outscored in the third, 11-3, as the Falcons increased their advantage to 32-23.
Crescenta Valley made it an 11-point game, 34-23, with 7:26 left in the the fourth quarter. Burroughs made a move, going on a 10-0 run to tie the score at 36 with 3:17 left.
Down, 43-41, with eight seconds left, the Indians had a final possession. After a missed shot by freshman Faith Boulander (10 points, six rebounds), freshman Kayla Wrobel (13 points, 11 rebounds) got the rebound and put up a layup at the buzzer to send the game into overtime tied at 43.
“This is the type of game that is really good for us,” said Burroughs coach Vicky Oganyan, whose team made 20 of 41 free throws and shot 15 of 60 from the floor. “We are young and we’re not in those situations a lot.
“It was definitely good to see the fight in the team and I think that is our No. 1 goal, to make sure we’re showing that. We know if we do that, we’re going to get better and we’re going to learn how to win games like this.”
Twitter: @jefftsports
