Hot start lifts Burroughs girls’ basketball over Burbank in rival showdown
BURBANK — The shots fell, the defense forced turnovers and all went according to plan for the Burroughs High girls’ basketball team in its rivalry matchup against Burbank on Friday.
The momentum the Indians established over the Bulldogs easily transitioned from quarter to quarter the Indians pulled away early in the Pacific League contest.
The intense defensive pressure Burroughs implemented on Burbank created a 21-point differential in the first quarter, and the Indians cruised to a 52-35 win at Burbank.
“I thought we had a good start in terms of our energy and aggressiveness on defense,” Burroughs coach Vicky Oganyan said. “I think our defensive pressure allowed us to get some easy baskets. I was really pleased with the focus, energy and aggression we started with.”
Burroughs junior Dyani Del Castillo led all scorers with 15 points. Indians junior Kayla Wrobel added 12 and sophomore Noor Fahs registered six rebounds and five steals — all in the first half.
The Bulldogs were led by senior Khyla Lipscomb with six points, while sophomores Alle Tarvirdi and Christina Ohanian each added five.
Burroughs, ranked No. 9 in CIF Southern Section Division II-A, out-muscled Burbank on offensive rebounds in the first half, 9-1, and stole the ball 10 times in that span.
Burroughs (14-5, 5-1 in league) got on the board with a put-back from sophomore Noor Fahs, followed by nine unanswered points from Wrobel for the 11-0 Burroughs lead.
Del Castillo sank consecutive three-pointers to cap the Indians’ 19-0 start, before Burbank junior Erika Montoya finally put the Bulldogs on the board with a three-pointer with 1:54 left in the quarter.
“I think it was because it was a Burbank-Burroughs game,” said Del Castillo of her team’s intensity. “We were just really hyped before the game. We really wanted to come out strong and finish strong.”
Burbank center Tabitha Cruz scored the Bulldogs’ second field goal with 3.1 left in the period as the Indians finished the quarter with a 26-5 lead.
“I just thought we had to settle down and realize we have to play one possession at a time,” Burbank coach Jett del Mundo said. “They’re trying to win or lose the game on every possession instead of just playing. We took them out and went to the bench and said, ‘Lets go one possession at a time.’ We got a little momentum, we cut the lead and we felt like we had some rhythm going the rest of the way.”
Burroughs pulled ahead to its largest lead of the half, 31-10, courtesy of a mid-range jump shot from Del Castillo with 4:13 left in the half. The junior knocked down a three with 1:39 left as the Indians closed out the half with a 40-15 lead.
Indian senior Sophie Hawkins extended the visitors’ lead to 48-18 with 56.1 left in the third, but the Bulldogs finished the quarter with five unanswered points as the quarter ended,
The Bulldogs put up a 9-0 run late in the game on three consecutive three-pointers to pull within 52-34.