Pioneers continue to win
PROVIDENCE HIGH -- The names and faces might have changed, but the
Providence High girls’ basketball team is still producing winning
results.
On Monday, the Pioneers remained unbeaten this summer with a 32-26
victory against visiting Village Christian in a Providence Summer
League game.
“We’ve played three games this summer, and this was not a good
effort,” Providence Coach Andrew Bencze said of his team, which
improved to 3-0. “Defensively, we played hard, but there are a lot of
things that we could do better on. Offensively, we didn’t do a great
job running things.”
Having lost four starters to graduation, Providence -- which
finished second in the Liberty League -- struggled at times against
the Crusaders, but did show it has athletes blessed with quickness.
“Last year, we were better offensively, but this year we’re much
better defensively,” Bencze said. “We should be quick. Last year, we
had a lot of injuries and we couldn’t play the half-court defense [as
much].”
The Pioneers’ one returning starter is 6-foot-4 center Megan
Campbell, who came off the bench in Monday’s game and finished with a
team-high 10 points to go with seven rebounds.
“It’s nice that she has some size, but she needs to become an
offensive force for us,” Bencze said.
The Pioneers and Crusaders took turns holding the lead in the
first half, as Providence was able to take a 16-15 halftime
advantage.
Campbell scored the final four points of the first half.
Providence proved to be too strong in the second half, and didn’t
have too many problems protecting its lead.
Heather Hansen came up with a big steal and a basket early in the
second half to give the Pioneers a 20-17 advantage.
Providence went on a 6-0 run -- paced by four points from Campbell
to open up a 28-19 lead.
Village Christian, which received five points from Burbank
resident Jackie Ruiz -- a star on the school’s CIF championship
softball team -- made an attempt at a late run, as Ashley Santos hit
a pair of jumpers during the final two minutes to cut the Pioneer
lead to four points.
The Crusaders then forced Providence to turn the ball over. But
the momentum was short-lived, and Providence turned the favor by
stealing the ball back.
Hannah Gerado was then fouled on a Pioneer fast-break and she hit
one of two free throws with less than a minute left to give
Providence a five-point cushion.
“This was our first game as a varsity team,” Village Christian
Coach Matt Treydte said. “I think there was a lot of hustle from both
teams considering that there is nothing on the line in this game.
“Providence is super quick. They had a good intense game and they
just never quit.”
Treydte’s team has another player from Burbank, Carly Brown, who
didn’t score.
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BOX SCORE
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Village Christian 15 11 -- 26
Providence 16 16 -- 32
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VILLAGE CHRISTIAN
Santos 11, Ruiz 5, Bibelheimer 4, Aguilar 2, Pierson 2, Miller 2 * Three-pointers: Santos
PROVIDENCE
Campbell 10 and 7 rebounds, Gerado 9, Arboleda 5, Hansen 2, Amran 2, Kattengil 2, Bouldoukian 2. * Three-pointers: Arboleda
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