Burbank looks to jumpstart the rebuild 

A new beginning is officially in full gear for the Lady Bulldogs basketball team as Alexa Mrizaian begins her first season at the helm making history for the program as the first female head coach in the program’s history. Mirzaian will be tasked to turn around a team that went 7-19 overall and 4-10 in Pacific League play a season ago and slowly rebuild the team into Pacific League contenders. 

The coaching staff under Mirzaian will feature Armen Nazaryan (Head Junior Varsity Coach) and Natalie Setagian (Assistant Coach). Nazaryan and Setagian were holdovers from last year’s coaching staff under Kris Jabourian who stepped away after the 2023-2024 season concluded. Heading into the 2024-2025 season, one player that should factor in under Coach Mirzaian will be senior big Lauren Navarro, who earned all-Pacific League second-team last season. Other key players that should be assets to this year’s team will be junior guards Yvette Soukiazian and Charlotte Hartwell and sophomore guard Andrea Aparicio who should be one of the key underclassmen in a sophomore-heavy group.  Aparicio made varsity as a freshman and showed flashes of her potential last season while posting a season-high 15 points against Muir this past January. 

The Lady Bulldogs will begin the 2024-2025 season against Castaic on the road on Thursday, November 18th, and play Mesorbian home opener on Monday, November 25th. The first game against Castaic will tip off at 5:00 p.m. and Mesorbian at 5:15 p.m. 

They will also participate in three December tournaments, the San Marino Tournament from Monday, December 4th until Saturday, December 7th. The second tournament that they will participate in will be the last two days of the Burroughs Varsity Basketball Tournament shootout which will take place on Friday, December 13th, and Saturday, December 14th at John Burroughs High School. Following Christmas Day, Burbank will also participate in the Sacred Heart Tournament from Thursday, December 26th until Monday, December 30th. Another key date in the December calendar will be the program’s Alumni Basketball Game which will take place on Saturday, December 21st at 11:00 AM at the Burbank High gym where both Junior Varsity and Varsity teams will square off against the Lady Bulldogs Legends. 

Following the Holiday break from school Pacific League Play begins on Tuesday, January 7th against Pasadena which will be a battle of the Lady Bulldogs with tip-off slated for 5:15 p.m. along with the battle of Burbank tip-off against cross-town rival Burroughs on Wednesday, January 29th with tip-off scheduled at 5:15 p.m which will include senior night ceremonies honoring the graduating seniors on the Lady Bulldogs Basketball Program.  Stay tuned for coverage of the Burbank High Lady Basketball Bulldogs all season long.