Early deficit to big for Burroughs
BURBANK — In the second round of its host tournament, the Burroughs High girls’ basketball team ran into an opponent that simply outplayed it in all facets of the game.
The 62-41 final score ended a loss to Sierra Canyon in which the Indians trailed throughout, and by double-digits from the second quarter on.
Riddled by injuries, Burroughs’ rotation consists mostly of freshmen and sophomores, but Coach Vicky Oganyan only wanted to focus on the players on the court, not the ones on the bench.
“It’s good experience playing teams like this to help us get mature,” said Oganyan, whose team will play El Camino at 5 p.m. on Monday in the consolation bracket.. “They’re not used to playing varsity yet.”
The inexperienced Indians were overwhelmed from the get-go, trailing, 15-5, after the first eight minutes of play en route to a first half that saw 16 turnovers and two made field goals — zero of which came in the second quarter, where the Trailblazers took a 20-point advantage that would go no lower.
Sierra Canyon’s Zoe Goss, and Toni Oni used their size advantage to score 18 of the team’s 34 first-half points, with a majority coming in the paint on second-chance opportunities.
Along with Kennedy Burke’s 15, the trio finished the game with 38 points.
Despite what the scoreboard showed, Burroughs showed better play in the second half on both ends of the court. The turnovers decreased as the offense led to better looks from the field. The defense gave up 12 points in the third quarter — the lowest of the four.
“They calmed down a little bit,” said Oganyan, who coached the Indians to the quarterfinals of the CIF Division 2-AA playoffs last season after winning the Pacific League crown. “We started the game scared, hyped up and out of control.”
The third quarter also brought the lone reason for excitement and jubilation from the Burroughs bench. After a Sierra Canyon basket with seconds remaining in the frame, Indians guard Paula Galicia’s half-court shot hit nothing but net.
Delaney Nicol and Sidney Ortega each put in seven points for the Indians.