Nitros can’t match champs
BURBANK — The game clock couldn’t have ticked any slower for the members of the Glendale High girls’ basketball team Tuesday afternoon.
Every second must have seemed like an eternity for the Nitros, who suffered a 68-16 loss to powerful Bellarmine-Jefferson in a Burroughs High Summer League contest.
Turnovers and missed shots, combined with Bell-Jeff’s keen awareness across the court, led to Glendale’s undoing in the 40-minute game.
“It was a long hour,” said Glendale Coach Tania Adary, whose team trailed, 36-7, at halftime after missing its first six shots from the floor. “I told [our team] in the beginning that [Bell-Jeff] is a great team, but they are not unstoppable.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t so anything offensively or defensively. It’s one of those days where nothing went right.”
Bell-Jeff, which captured the CIF Southern Section Division V-A championship before winning the Division V state championship last winter, looked primed and poised to compete against the Nitros. The Guards, the defending Santa Cruz League champion, jumped out to a 12-0 lead before Keasha Luna got the Nitros on the board with a layup with 13 minutes left in the opening half. Glendale also committed five turnovers before it scored against a Guards team that returns All-CIF and All-Area selections Rishonda Napier and Margeaux Gupilan.
“I think we were intimidated,” said Adary, whose team finished fifth in the Pacific League last season before advancing to the first round of the Division II-AA playoffs. “Because it’s so early in summer, we can learn from this and adjust.
“Now we know where we stand, who we can depend on and what works.”
Glendale received a team-high five points from guard Serah Mirzaeian. Guard Sophia Kelley collected four points for Glendale, which got three from guard Stella Ghazarian.
“We can do better,” Adary said.
Bell-Jeff opened the second half on an 11-2 run to extend its lead to 47-9 with 15 minutes remaining.
Glendale will next compete in another Burroughs game at 3 p.m. Tuesday against Simi Valley. It will also take part in contests against Sherman Oaks Notre Dame on July 7, Saugus on July 14 and Chaminade on July 21.
