Hartounian not afraid to take shots

Erik Boal

GLENDALE -- o7 Odds and ends from the local high school girls’

basketball scene:f7

No pressure: In order to secure the most important win of Glendale’s

season, Anika Hartounian had to think back to the biggest win of her high

school career.

With five seconds left in Tuesday’s Pacific League game against

Arcadia, Hartounian faced a one-and-one free-throw situation with the

contest tied at 44.

Poised and confident as she approached the charity stripe, the senior

was able to draw strength from a similar situation during her sophomore

season, when the Nitros defeated Muir, 38-35, on Feb. 1, 2000, handing the Mustangs their last loss before they began their current 20-game

league winning streak.

With the game tied at 35, Hartounian converted a three-point play with

11 seconds remaining to lift Glendale to the upset against Muir, the

top-ranked team in CIF Southern Section IIA at the time.

So with this season’s Nitro playoff hopes hanging in the balance, the

5-foot-5 guard calmly sank both free throws to lift her team (9-14, 3-4

in league) to a 46-44 triumph and into sole possession of third place,

ahead of Arcadia (11-8, 2-5) and Hoover (5-13, 2-5).

“Everything was just really quiet,” said Hartounian, who was five of

10 from the free-throw line before her game-winning attempts.

“I just thought back to my sophomore year against Muir and how I was

put in the same position and how I had to make them.

“I knew that if we didn’t win this game, we weren’t going to the

playoffs.”

Hartounian -- the area’s second-leading scorer at 16.6 points per game

-- finished with a game-high 24 points, including a perfect three of

three from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.

The Nitros -- who entered Tuesday’s game shooting at a 58% clip from

the charity stripe -- converted on 14 of 22 (63.6%) attempts, including

seven of eight in the final three minutes.