Nitros edged by Granada Hills

BURBANK — Before turning into a nailbiter, Tuesday’s matchup between the Glendale High girls’ basketball team and Granada Hills started as a defensive struggle.

Ultimately, the contest resulted in a Nitros defeat.

Glendale fell to Granada Hills, 33-30, at John Burroughs High in the consolation bracket of the Magnolia Optimist tournament.

“I don’t expect them to go on a scoring spree,” said Nitros Coach Tania Adary. “I just want them to play defense. If they’re scoring 15 points in a half, and the other team is scoring five or 10, I’m happy.”

The first half was a defensive bloodbath. Glendale (2-3) managed only four points in the first quarter and scored only 10 for the entire half. During that span, the Nitros had an almost nine-minute span without notching any points.

Granada Hills wasn’t any more productive. After holding an 8-4 advantage following the first period, the Highlanders managed only a pair of foul shots in the second. The team went more than 10 minutes without making a shot from the field, including the entire second period. The contest was knotted at 10 at halftime.

Adary acknowledged it wasn’t entirely her team’s defensive effort that kept its opponent at bay, but more a result of the Highlanders not connecting on shots.

“They weren’t finishing,” Adary said of Granada Hills. “They were grabbing their rebounds. That was big for us.”

The Highlanders benefited from a number of second-chance baskets throughout the contest.

“If we blocked out and limited them to one shot attempt, I think we could have had this game easily,” Glendale’s Michelle Tomasian said. “That was our main problem with this game — blocking out.”

The second half was a different story from the first. The Nitros held a 22-21 lead at the end of the third period and were up 28-25 midway through the fourth before falling 33-30.

“We came in thinking it’s a brand new start at 10-10, and we put everything out there,” Tomasian said.

Tomasian had eight points and seven rebounds for Glendale. Erlin Keshishzadeh was leading her team with seven points and six rebounds before leaving the game midway through the third period with an injured ankle.

Kylie Campos scored eight points to lead Granada Hills, while teammate Danielle Ward grabbed 11 rebounds.