Burroughs girls’ basketball finishes off another perfect league season

BURBANK — Superb defense as per usual by the Burroughs High girls’ basketball team guided a regular season ending victory over rival Burbank on Thursday evening at home, capping off yet another undefeated Pacific League campaign, two days after securing their fourth consecutive championship.

The Indians, ranked No. 6 in the latest CIF Southern Section Division 1-A poll, have won 42 straight games in league dating back to 2013. The latest was a 46-34 victory over a Burbank team that gave Burroughs one of its biggest scare earlier this season.

This time around, offense came at a premium, particularly for the Bulldogs, who did not score in the first quarter as the Indians secured another win in their remarkable run.

“To win four in a row in a league with good coaches, pretty good players and with everybody playing well … to win some of the close ones, I’m proud of them,” Indians Coach Vicky Oganyan said.

The Indians (21-7, 14-0 in league) won the league title outright with a 67-34 win over Glendale on Tuesday and clinched at least a share of it on Feb. 5 against Hoover. Crescenta Valley took second ahead of Glendale, with Burbank finishing fourth.

Burbank will also now look to the postseason, as it finished 18-10, 8-6 in league.

Turnovers and subpar offense kept Bulldogs Coach Bruce Breeden’s squad from potentially threatening an upset on Thursday.

The Bulldogs were held without a point in the first quarter, but came back strong in the second.

Ultimately, the slow start resulted in Burbank playing from behind the entire way and trailed by as many as 18 in the fourth quarter.

“Burroughs definitely played good defense,” Breeden said. “Lately, though, we’ve been having a hard time getting into our offense. I was worried after the first quarter because we weren’t really clicking and they weren’t understanding what, as coaches, we wanted until the fourth quarter.”

Osanna Tirityan led the Bulldogs with 13 points. Ani Sarkisyan took the floor late in the game for the first time since Jan. 29. Breeden called his senior point guard crucial to the team’s upcoming playoff run and attributed her as a major difference-maker.

Despite relentless defense, Burroughs managed eight points in the first quarter and 16 going into halftime, while holding a nine-point advantage.

Abbey Ibarra’s seven first-half points, including a three-pointer from the top of the key midway through the first quarter to give Burroughs a 8-0 lead, matched Burbank’s team through 16 minutes. Kamryn Cardenaz (10 points), Ibarra (nine points), Brooke Radcliff (eight points) and Jordan Meltzer (eight points) led a balanced attack.

“We followed the game plan and our defense did a great job,” Oganyan said. “We made a few mistakes early, but we did a good job covering their best players. Our defense helped us stay in the game while our offense was struggling and then we were able to get a 12- to 14-point lead.”

Radcliff went coast-to-coast early in the third to highlight a quick start to the second half in which Burroughs scored six of the first eight to take a 22-9 lead.

Burbank didn’t get into double figures until Emma Kerr’s basket inside with 3:54 remaining in the frame. It was too little, too late for Burbank, as the margin stayed at double-digits for all but the opening seconds of the second half.

“We started attacking late,” Breeden said. “We should have been more comfortable and got after it right away. I know we have a lot of juniors starting, but at this point in the season, they’re seniors as far as I’m concerned.”

With her team trailing, 34-16, in the fourth, Tirityan scored eight quick points in the span of just over two minutes to pace a 10-2 run which cut the Indians lead down to 10 points with 2:30 to play in the game. The lead proved insurmountable and Meltzer made sure of it with six free throws down the stretch to seal the victory and spark jubilation from the capacity home crowd.