First published in the Jan. 22 print issue of the Glendale News Press.
Girls’ basketball at Crescenta Valley High had been on pause as COVID’s Omicron variant wreaked havoc with high school sporting events throughout the area. However, it was time to press the play button once again, and the Falcons got the chance to stretch their collective legs on the court, taking on host Hoover High.
After a sluggish start, it was not long before the visiting Falcons got going and ran over the host Tornados for a 74-15 victory Tuesday evening in Pacific League action.
“It started kind of slow. We hadn’t played for three or four weeks due to COVID issues,” CV coach Michael Flot said. “We were just trying to get them to warm up, play, have fun and relax, while at the same time playing our kind of basketball.”
Crescenta Valley (7-5 overall record, 5-0 in league) scored the first eight points of the contest before Hoover (1-10, 0-5) strung together three free throws. It was 14-3 after the opening quarter.
The second quarter was going slow for the Falcons, who had only built on their advantage by four points, thanks to two field goals by Keira Calagus off assists by Kylie Ray, when Flot called a timeout with 3:08 left before the break. CV then went on a 17-0 run, eight of which came from Lulu Arzoumanian.
Hoover’s Paola Gorgeiz sank two free throws with 11 seconds to go in the half to set the margin after two quarters at 35-5.
The second half was more of the same. The first points came on a coast-to-coast drive for a layup by Ray.
“It felt good to finally get back out here and play again with my teammates,” Ray said.
The sophomore then blocked a shot at the other end, which was followed by a 3-pointer from the top of the key by Taleen Krikorian for a 40-5 advantage. After that, nearly two minutes into the third quarter, the Tornados finally recorded their first field goal when senior Emily Gharibian made a shot from beyond the arc. The Falcons won the stanza 19-6 and the score was 54-11 after three quarters played.
In the fourth quarter Hoover looked to shoot quickly, but the strategy did not alter the outcome. Crescenta Valley took the period 20-4. The first points of the final period came on a three-pointer by Victoria Prochazka and the final margin was set on a three-pointer from the corner by sophomore Tara Arouchian.
Crescenta Valley spread the wealth around on the offensive end, with 10 different Falcons scoring points, although none reached double digits. Prochazka, Calagus and Kristen Olavi shared team-high honors with nine points apiece. Ray, Aleek Zakarian and Arzoumanian each scored eight while Melissa Dayag chipped in seven. Natalie Avanessian had six points, all in the second half, with Krikorian and Arouchian each scoring five.
Despite the 59-point setback, it was a Tornado who led the contest in scoring. Gorgeiz was tops with 10 points, including all of her team’s output in the second and fourth quarters. Gharibian recorded five points and freshman Aline Melconian had one. This reliance on Gorgeiz is not an aberration for Hoover. In the squad’s last outing before the game hosting the Falcons, Gorgeiz scored all 25 of her team’s points in a 55-25 loss to Burbank.
“It was good to get out there but, as you can see, we’re often not as competitive as we need to be,” Hoover coach Stan Watson said. “We’re doing what we can to stay competitive, but sometimes we don’t achieve that.”
