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BURBANK – Crescenta Valley girls basketball’s Kylie Ray sank a 3-pointer just 10 seconds into the game against Burroughs.
A quick basket doesn’t always guarantee a win, but when Ray is making shots and the experienced group around her is gelling, there’s a pretty good chance. The Falcons took control of the game as well as the Pacific League with a 63-52 win at Burroughs Tuesday night.
“We’ve grown a lot since last season,” Crescenta Valley assistant coach Liana Esmaili said. “We were very young and we had to learn a lot, but this year we’re putting it all together.”
Three Falcons finished in double-digits in scoring with Ray leading the group at 16 points. Baleen Krikorian and Lulu Arzoumanian each added 13 points.
Crescenta Valley made some early 3s in the first quarter, but trailed 18-13 at the conclusion of the frame. The Bears’ Ivana Razov hit a corner 3-pointer with 40 seconds left to give her team the lead.
Ivana Razov hits a corner three to give Burroughs a 15-13 lead with 40 seconds to go in the first quarter.
Burroughs leads 18-15 at the end of the frame. pic.twitter.com/dD93Hj0kQb
— Haley Sawyer (@haleymsawyer) January 25, 2023
The Falcons (20-5 overall, 10-1 Pacific League) put together several runs in the second quarter and gained a 10-point lead on a jumper by Melissa Dayag.
They led 36-26 lead at the break.
“We just had to swing the ball around and get everybody open to make shots,” Ray said.
Burroughs (15-10, 9-2) began to climb back in the fourth quarter and closed the gap to eight points with roughly six minutes left in the game, but the Falcons went on a six-point run to pull ahead to a comfortable lead again.
Miriam Fahs, a sophomore, led Burroughs in scoring with 14 points, which included eight points in the fourth quarter. Izzy Rodrick chipped in 12 points.
The Bears are a young group this season with only three seniors, but they managed to beat Crescenta Valley in mid-December by two points.
“These games are what we like,” Burroughs coach Vicky Oganyan said. “They challenge us and push us to become better. Moving forward not just for next week but for next year, games like these are going to make us better.”
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Crescenta Valley, which is now alone in first place in the league standings, has a chance to win its second consecutive Pacific League title. Last year, the Falcons went unbeaten in league play but lost in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 2A playoffs.
The team has focused on building a lockdown defense the past three seasons to complement its already steady scoring. Just as Burroughs does, the Falcons embrace games like Tuesday’s.
“This year we took it to another level,” Esmaili said. “And that has carried us through to win big games like this.”