Glendale — After a signature victory two days prior against Crescenta Valley High, the Glendale girls’ basketball team looked to accomplish an even more significant win when it took on Burroughs Friday evening.
The Indians, who have won four straight Pacific League championships, came into the game riding a 45-game league winning.
In a game where both teams struggled with their shooting and scoring was at a premium, Glendale was able to come on in the fourth quarter to earn a 29-27 victory against visiting Burroughs.
It was the first league loss of the season for the Indians, who slipped to 11-8, 3-1 in league. It was also the program’s first league setback since Feb. 7, 2013, when Burroughs lost its regular season finale to Burbank, 54-37.
For the Nitros (13-7, 4-1), ranked No. 5 in CIF Southern Section Division II-A, the win was not entirely unexpected.
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Burroughs’ Marin Grote grabs a rebound with competition for the ball by Glendale’s Cynthia Zamora in a Pacific League girls’ basketball game at Glendale High School on Friday, January 13, 2017. Glendale won the game 29-27, snapping a 45-game, in-league winning streak by Burroughs starting in 2013. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Glendale’s Jillian Yanai drives to the basket to shoot with Burroughs’ Marin Grote looking to block in a Pacific League girls’ basketball game at Glendale High School on Friday, January 13, 2017. Glendale won the game 29-27, snapping a 45-game, in-league winning streak by Burroughs starting in 2013. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Glendale’s Jillian Yanai drives to the basket to shoot but is fouled when Burroughs’ Ariana Farias knocks the ball away in a Pacific League girls’ basketball game at Glendale High School on Friday, January 13, 2017. Glendale won the game 29-27, snapping a 45-game, in-league winning streak by Burroughs starting in 2013. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Burroughs’ Marin Grote blocks the shot taken by Glendale’s Ellin Yerissian in a Pacific League girls’ basketball game at Glendale High School on Friday, January 13, 2017. Glendale won the game 29-27, snapping a 45-game, in-league winning streak by Burroughs starting in 2013. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Burroughs’ head coach Vicky Oganyan talks with her team between quarters in the game against Glendale in a Pacific League girls’ basketball game at Glendale High School on Friday, January 13, 2017. Glendale won the game 29-27, snapping a 45-game, in-league winning streak by Burroughs starting in 2013. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Glendale’s head coach Tadeh Mardirosian talks with his team between quarters in the game against Burroughs in a Pacific League girls’ basketball game at Glendale High School on Friday, January 13, 2017. Glendale won the game 29-27, snapping a 45-game, in-league winning streak by Burroughs starting in 2013. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Burroughs’ Jocelyn Rieken shoots with defense from Glendale’s Cynthia Zamora in a Pacific League girls’ basketball game at Glendale High School on Friday, January 13, 2017. Glendale won the game 29-27, snapping a 45-game, in-league winning streak by Burroughs starting in 2013. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Burroughs’ Haley Wilson shoots over Burroughs in a Pacific League girls’ basketball game at Glendale High School on Friday, January 13, 2017. Glendale won the game 29-27, snapping a 45-game, in-league winning streak by Burroughs starting in 2013. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Glendale’s Jillian Yanai gets under the defense of Burroughs’ Marin Grote in a Pacific League girls’ basketball game at Glendale High School on Friday, January 13, 2017. Glendale won the game 29-27, snapping a 45-game, in-league winning streak by Burroughs starting in 2013. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Glendale’s Sylvia Vartazarian drives to shoot against Burroughs’ Marin Grote in a Pacific League girls’ basketball game at Glendale High School on Friday, January 13, 2017. Glendale won the game 29-27, snapping a 45-game, in-league winning streak by Burroughs starting in 2013. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Burroughs’ Marin Grote blocks Glendale’s Sylvia Vartazarian in a Pacific League girls’ basketball game at Glendale High School on Friday, January 13, 2017. Glendale won the game 29-27, snapping a 45-game, in-league winning streak by Burroughs starting in 2013. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Burroughs’ Caitlyn Pentland turns to shoot against Glendale in a Pacific League girls’ basketball game at Glendale High School on Friday, January 13, 2017. Glendale won the game 29-27, snapping a 45-game, in-league winning streak by Burroughs starting in 2013. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Burroughs’ Ariana Farias brings the ball up the court and is fouled by Glendale’s Jillian Yanai in a Pacific League girls’ basketball game at Glendale High School on Friday, January 13, 2017. Glendale won the game 29-27, snapping a 45-game, in-league winning streak by Burroughs starting in 2013. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Burroughs’ Haley Wilson drives the lane to shoot against Glendale in a Pacific League girls’ basketball game at Glendale High School on Friday, January 13, 2017. Glendale won the game 29-27, snapping a 45-game, in-league winning streak by Burroughs starting in 2013. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Burroughs’ Caitlyn Pentland turns to shoot against Glendale’s Sylvia Vartazarian in a Pacific League girls’ basketball game at Glendale High School on Friday, January 13, 2017. Glendale won the game 29-27, snapping a 45-game, in-league winning streak by Burroughs starting in 2013. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Glendale’s Sylvia Vartazarian drives to the basket to shoot against Burroughs in a Pacific League girls’ basketball game at Glendale High School on Friday, January 13, 2017. Glendale won the game 29-27, snapping a 45-game, in-league winning streak by Burroughs starting in 2013. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Glendale’s Claire Yanai and Merina Latu work together to defend against Burroughs’ Jocelyn Rieken from shooting in a Pacific League girls’ basketball game at Glendale High School on Friday, January 13, 2017. Glendale won the game 29-27, snapping a 45-game, in-league winning streak by Burroughs starting in 2013. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Glendale’s Jillian Yanai turns and looks for someone to pass to in the closing seconds of the game, double teamed by Burroughs’ Jocelyn Rieken and Ariana Farias in a Pacific League girls’ basketball game at Glendale High School on Friday, January 13, 2017. Glendale won the game 29-27, snapping a 45-game, in-league winning streak by Burroughs starting in 2013. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Burroughs’ Kamryn Cardenaz drives to the basket to shoot annd score in the closing seconds of the game with Glendale’s Claire Yanai pursuing on defense in a Pacific League girls’ basketball game at Glendale High School on Friday, January 13, 2017. Glendale won the game 29-27, snapping a 45-game, in-league winning streak by Burroughs starting in 2013. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
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Burroughs’ Marin Grote shoots against Glendale in a Pacific League girls’ basketball game at Glendale High School on Friday, January 13, 2017. Glendale won the game 29-27, snapping a 45-game, in-league winning streak by Burroughs starting in 2013. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)
“This just feels great. This was such a big win for us,” said Glendale senior Sylvia Vartazarian, who led all scorers with 16 points to go along with eight rebounds. “But I’m honestly not surprised that we won today. We came out today and we looked at it like this is our game.
“It feels good to break their streak, but at the same time, I know a lot of players on their team and I know how they must be feeling right now after losing.”
Senior Claire Yanai added seven points for Glendale, which had just four players score in the game.
It was a challenging game for Burroughs, which struggled from the field as well as from the free-throw line. The Indians converted just three of 13 free-throw attempts and made 12 of 44 shots from the field for 27.3% shooting.
It didn’t help matters for the Indians that one of their top players, senior Camryn Cardenaz, had to sit out a portion of the first half after getting into foul trouble.
“Sometimes you walk away from games and say, ‘Man, I should have called this or I should have called that,’” Burroughs Coach Vicky Oganyan said. “But I felt in this game, the plays we called were for the right people in those situations. We just didn’t execute.
“Every year our goal is to contend for the league title. Our goal was never to win a certain number of games in a row. I feel when you do that, it makes it harder to win games in league.”
The Indians received nine points, 11 rebounds and four blocks from junior Marin Grote and eight points and six rebounds from Cardenaz.
It came down to the fourth quarter after the teams were knotted at 22 through three. Glendale held a 26-23 lead with under four minutes to go. After the Indians failed to score on two straight possessions, Vartazarian came up with a big shot for the Nitros, sinking a long three-pointer at the top of the key with 1:04 remaining to increase the lead to 29-23.
But Burroughs battled back. Freshman Angela Davtyan sank a jumper in the lane and Cardenaz followed with a driving layup to whittle the advantage down to 29-27 with 25.9 seconds left.
The Indians were then forced to foul. Glendale missed the front end of a one-and-one and gave Burroughs possession with 12.6 seconds remaining. Cardenaz drove the lane, but her shot missed the mark and Glendale’s Merina Latu came up with the rebound before the ball went to the Nitros out of bounds. With 1.1 seconds left, Glendale inbounded the ball as the buzzer sounded.
Burroughs held a 6-4 lead after one quarter and went into halftime with a two-point advantage, 16-14.
“The pressure was really not on us in this game,” Glendale Coach Tadeh Mardirosian said. “It was just another Friday night game for us. We just wanted to go out and play. It was not so much about the streak, it was more about beating Burroughs and I have such a high respect for Vicky and her program.
“We are really excited about this win. The program is headed in the right direction and I’ve just tried to instill confidence in the girls and we have fun playing basketball.”
