Indians keep moving on

BURBANK — The Burroughs High girls’ basketball squad is headed to the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 2-AA playoffs.

Powered by a suffocating defense that surrendered just one field goal in the first half, the Indians will now meet Inglewood in the quarters after getting by Saugus, 52-34, at Burroughs Saturday night.

“Our defense was solid,” said Indians Coach Vicky Oganyan, A Glendale High graduate, who has now guided the team to the furthest its been during her seven-year run at the helm. “And we hit some big shots on the other end.”

Chelsea Rhamdeow paced the Indians on offense with her 18 points — 16 of which came in the second half, when Saugus kept trying to battle and get back into it but couldn’t, as Burroughs answered every score with one of its own.

The Indians (25-5) defense overwhelmed and played hard-nosed against the Centurions, who made 19 of their 34 points from the foul line.

It was an uphill battle all game for the visitors from the Foothill League, trailing throughout and having scored just four points with 4:25 left in the second quarter. A 6-0 run, including the team’s first field goal as time expired brought them back to within 14 by halftime.

Burroughs, however, never let up and will look for the same effort against the No. 1-seeded Sentinels in the quarterfinals.

“They took us out of our game all night,” Saugus Coach Kent Eaton said. “We couldn’t get good shots and when we did, we didn’t knock them down.”

Lisha Elsenbach, who led the Pacific League in scoring, added eight points.

The No. 4-seeded Indians look to keep a 13-game winning streak going and their season alive as the road team when they face Inglewood Wednesday night.

It’s already been a stellar season for Burroughs. Along with a conference championship, the team set an all-time program mark of victories in a season.

“We’re excited about taking on the challenges as they come,” Oganyan said.