Harrison’s Record Effort Helps Hart to Victory

Melissa Harrison is known for her ability to score--from down low, the top of the key and maybe even from the snack bar.

The senior forward showed Friday night that she has other talents.

Harrison had only 12 points, but she pulled down 17 rebounds, set a school record with eight blocked shots and played stellar defense in Hart’s 36-25 victory over Burroughs in a Foothill League girls’ basketball game at Burroughs High.

Harrison put the clamps on injured Burroughs standout JoAnna Garrick and helped Hart (13-2, 3-0 in league play), ranked No. 4 in the region by The Times, win its 31st consecutive league game.

Neither team’s shooting performance would be cause for a party, but Harrison didn’t care.

“We knew defense would be the game,” said Harrison, who has been in contact with UC Santa Barbara. “We did what we had to do.

Garrick, an all-league selection last season, also did her part simply by playing.

The 6-foot-2 Garrick had been bothered all week by a lower back injury she sustained last Friday against Burbank.

She missed the past three days of school, underwent physical therapy sessions Thursday and Friday and then had six words for her coach before the game.

“Senior year,” she said. “I want to play.”

She entered the game with 4:03 left in the first quarter and played most of the game, finishing with five points on one-of-seven shooting.

She had eight rebounds for Burroughs (12-6, 1-2), ranked No. 8, but didn’t have much lift in her legs.

If Garrick’s condition worsens, she will undergo an MRI on Thursday.

For now, Garrick’s doctor said she can’t drive a car, sit for prolonged periods of time and, of all things, sit in stuffed chairs.

“I was more frightened by it than anything,” said Garrick, who said she was playing at about 60% of her normal strength. “That was probably an error of mine. I was a little nervous, a little timid.”

The Burroughs team was tentative in the first quarter, failing to score as it missed all 11 shots it attempted..

Erika Molina was the only threat for Burroughs in the second quarter, scoring seven of the team’s nine points.

Still, Burroughs, which made four of 26 shots (15.4%) in the first half, was within 15-9 at halftime.

How? Hart didn’t fare much better offensively, shooting 7 for 28 (25%) in the same span.

“I thought we should have had about eight to 10 more points in the first half,” Hart High Coach Dave Munroe said. “I thought we kind of blew it there.”

The same could not be said for Hart’s free-throw shooting late in the fourth quarter.

After Burroughs rallied from a 28-14 deficit and closed to within 29-25, Hart made seven of 10 free throws in the final minute.

There was also the Hart defense, which forced Burroughs into 10-of-50 shooting from the floor.

“We know that they’re the toughest team to play,” Harrison said. “They’re 1-2 [in league] and kind of out of it now.”

Burroughs will need help from other teams, specifically Valencia, which plays Hart next Friday, to catch up in the league race.

“I don’t know if [Valencia] can win, but I’ll be rooting for them,” Burroughs Coach Doug Nicol said.