Sports Roundup: Glendale girls’ basketball rallies for longtime-coming playoff win
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
Glendale 56, Whittier 46: The visiting Nitros won their first CIF first-round playoff game this century after rallying from a nine-point halftime deficit in Thursday’s CIF Southern Section Division II-A contest.
Perhaps even more impressive for the Nitros (17-11) was they held Whittier to seven fourth-quarter points to advance to the second round Saturday at home against Notre Dame Academy. The Nitros outscored Whittier, 17-7, in the fourth quarter.
“It’s just a beautiful accomplishment to be able to win a first-round game for the first time in quite some time,” said Glendale second-year Coach Tadeh Mardirosian, whose team took fourth in the Pacific League. “We were down and we worked hard to get back into it.
“We just stayed with it and our defense came through in the fourth quarter. We got so many big efforts.”
Glendale trailed, 29-20, at halftime.
Glendale received 20 points and three steals from Jillian Yanai, 13 points and nine rebounds from Sylvia Vartazarian, 16 points from Merina Latu and seven points, six steals and five assists from Claire Yanai.
Vartazarian and Jillian Yanai finished with six and five points, respectively, in the fourth quarter. The teams were deadlocked at 39 after the third quarter.
Whittier, which placed second in the Del Rio League, finished 12-16.
GIRLS’ WATER POLO
Lakeside 15, Glendale 11: The upset-minded Nitros gave host and No. 1 seed Lake Elsinore Lakeside all it could handle in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division VI playoffs on Thursday evening.
Trailing, 6-2, after the first quarter, Glendale (7-9), which finished fourth in the Pacific League, outscored the top seed, 8-6, over the next two periods, before Lakeside won the final quarter, 3-1.
“It was a great game and we played really hard until the very end,” Glendale Coach Casey Sripramong said. “I’m proud of them and it bodes well for us next year.”
Martin Luther King 13, Crescenta Valley 5: Crescenta Valley saw its season end Thursday in a CIF Southern Section Division II first-round road match.
The Falcons (23-6) received three goals and five steals from Kaitlyn Moguel and two goals and three steals from Alex Garas.
“We just started slow in the first quarter and they kept pushing us throughout the first half,” Crescenta Valley Coach Ricky Mulcahey said. “We got tired and that came from huge amounts of pressure.
“We won league again and we had a great season. We have a team that’s heading in the right direction.”
The Falcons had won 11 consecutive first-round matches.
Martin Luther King (19-10) finished first in the Big VIII League.
GIRLS’ SOCCER
Royal 2, Crescenta Valley 1: The Falcons lost on the road Thursday afternoon in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division III playoffs to the Coastal Canyon League’s second-place squad.
Crescenta Valley (16-5-1), which took second in the Pacific League, trailed, 2-0, in the second half before Brianna McReynolds scored off an assist from Sierra Lindman Marshall.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
L.A. Valley College 79, Glendale Community College 59: Glendale suffered a Western State Conference East Division defeat Wednesday. The Vaqueros (16-11, 6-3 in the division) received 17 points from Katia Dabbaghian, 12 from Luna Panosian and 11 from Brooke Radcliff.