Burbank High girls’ basketball takes home silver with win over Calabasas

BURBANK — With consistently strong play at both ends of the court, it occurred to the members of the Burbank High girls’ basketball team that they might be in position to fare well in the prestigious West Coast Holiday Festival before tipping off Pacific League play.

The Bulldogs entered the five-game tournament hovering around .500. However, they provided several glimpses of what might be in store from them for the remainder of the season, beginning with facing tough competition in the tournament to get them more battle tested.

Burbank more than answered the bell, as Yazzy Sa’dullah finished with 26 points and Anastasia Tsybaeva added 17 on Wednesday to spark Burbank to a 58-52 victory against Calabasas in the tournament’s Silver Division championship contest at Burroughs High.

“Everybody contributed and put their minds to it that we could win,” said the University of West Virginia-bound Sa’dullah, who finished with a game-high 26 points, six assists and seven steals to secure all-tournament accolades. “We beat some real good teams like Brentwood and Calabasas and we did it by playing the way we know how on both sides of the court.

“We got great defense and offense from a lot of people and it feels good to win the tournament. We want to keep that going into league.”

Burbank won its fifth game in a row to improve to 9-5. Calabasas dipped to 11-5.

The Bulldogs got off to a superb start, racing out to a 21-6 lead after the first quarter. They held a 30-16 halftime advantage and then held off a late comeback attempt by the Coyotes in the waning moments of the fourth quarter.

“We had a plan early on that we were able to execute,” Burbank Coach Bruce Breeden said. “We were able to get balanced scoring and we had our transition game working early on.

“We knew Calabasas liked to run up and down the court. We were able to counter. You play teams like Calabasas to get you ready for league. We’ve had a great Christmas break.”

Sa’dullah, a reigning All-Area pick who was named the league’s co-most valuable player last season, set the tone for the Bulldogs. She recorded a steal and went the full length of the court for a layup to give the Bulldogs a 13-2 lead with 3:36 remaining in the first quarter. She then made two straight three-pointers in the second quarter. Sa’dullah’s second three-pointer made it 27-8 with 6:43 left in the first half.

The 6-foot-6 Tsybaeva paced Burbank with six rebounds and a game-high three blocks en route to being selected to the all-tournament team. She blocked a pair of shots in the second half.

“It’s my first year on the varsity team, so I’m doing what I can to contribute,” Tsybaeva said. “I just love to go out there and block shots.

“It’s a great win for us. We’re doing a lot of things better, like communicating.”

Calabasas closed to within 51-46 on a three-pointer by Tal Sahar, who recorded a team-best 20 points, with 3:04 left in the fourth quarter.

A three-pointer by Burbank’s Christina Mkrtchyan gave the Bulldogs a 56-48 advantage with 1:38 to go. Mkrtchyan finished with nine points, eight rebounds and four assists to compliment Sa’dullah and Tsybaeva.

Burbank will next play in a league opener at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Arcadia.