Burroughs girls’ basketball is No. 1 seed in Division I-A

Perhaps one of the better developments in terms of playoff pairings as it relates to the Burroughs High girls’ basketball team came on Friday.

That’s when the CIF Southern Section Open Division bracket was unveiled.

Though Burroughs had been on the watch list earlier in the season, it wasn’t a surprise when the Indians weren’t selected. But JW North, the top-ranked team in Division I-A, was selected to the Open Division and the Indians subsequently earned the top seed in Division I-A as was revealed Sunday afternoon along with the rest of the girls’ basketball pairings.

Burroughs will host Santa Fe in the first round on Saturday, while Providence will host Cate in a Division 5-AA opener Wednesday and Burbank will travel to face 14th-seeded Arroyo Valley on Saturday in the Division I-A first round.

“I was happy that JW North was selected, it makes things a little easier,” Burroughs Coach Vicky Oganyan said. “But our division is still tough. I would say the top five teams are pretty tough.

“We’re gonna have to play well every game.”

The Indians (27-2) will take a Southern Section-best 23-game winning streak into their matchup Saturday against Santa Fe (14-10), which is a Del Rio League at-large entrant.

Should the Indians, who advanced to the quarterfinals last season, move on to Wednesday’s second round, they would square off with Westminster or Ontario.

During its lengthy winning streak, Burroughs collected its third straight Pacific League title, but being the No. 1 seed is definitely a new wrinkle for the Indians, but one Oganyan is confident won’t hinder her team’s play.

“I think they’re more excited about it than feeling any pressure,” Oganyan said. “They know every game is gonna be tough.”

Elsewhere in Division I-A, Burbank (17-11), which took fourth in the Pacific League, will travel to face 14th-seeded Arroyo Valley (25-1), the San Andreas League champion. The Bulldogs were originally slated to play second-seeded Troy, while Glendale, which took fifth in the Pacific League, was playing Arroyo Valley. With Burbank’s higher finish in league, the snafu was reversed.

Should Burbank prevail, it would move into Wednesday’s second round to play third-seeded Foothill or Cypress.

In Division 5-AA, Providence (20-7) is fresh off winning its sixth consecutive Liberty League championship and will play Cate (11-9), the Frontier League’s No. 4 squad.

“Everyone wants to know if you have a good draw, but you won’t really know for a couple of weeks,” Pioneers Coach Andrew Bencze said.

A victory by the Pioneers would put them in the second round Saturday against 11th-seeded Santa Clara or Temecula Prep.

“I’m pretty confident with how we’re playing,” Bencze said.