Jessica Mena scores 14 points for the Lady Bears in the bounce-back victory over the Lady Mustangs 

In a contest that featured two eight-win teams, The John Burroughs Lady Bears finished the West Coast Holiday Tournament with a dominant 54-35 win over Arleta. The Lady Bears improved to 2-3 in the tournament behind the 14-point performance by Jessica Mena in a game that was a return to form for the Lady Bears following two straight losses to Valencia and Ventura. Arleta came off a 52-43 loss to Leuzinger this past Saturday. 

Burroughs began the first quarter by going on a 15-0 scoring run with Mariam Fahs, Grace Barton, and Izzy Amoroso all providing the offense for the Lady Bears. While Arleta nearly had no points in the opening quarter, Tatiana Hernandez recorded a two-point jump shot at the buzzer to end the opening quarter with Burroughs leading 15-2. 

Both teams began the second quarter by getting points at the free throw line with Victoria Eufranco, Justine Mejia, and Polina Gorgeiz all trading scores. Eufranco made one of two shots at the foul line while Mejia nailed both of her free throw attempts. Gorgeiz made one of two shots at the line. The Lady Bears continued to have momentum throughout the second quarter and led 26-10 at the halftime break. 

Following the halftime break, Barton and Ashley Rivera traded baskets for the respective teams to start the third quarter. Fahs, Aakira Smith, Mena, and Tatiana Hernandez also swapped points. The game continued to be in the hands of Burroughs and the Lady Bears ended the third quarter with a 45-19 lead heading into the fourth quarter.  The Lady Mustangs had no comeback hopes in sight as the Lady Bears put the game away in the final quarter which completed a 19-point win for Burroughs. 

“What we did today was the stuff we talked about, on what we needed to improve on,” said Vikki Oganyan. Oganyan also praised Mena for her hard work when asked about her 14-point game. 

“We knew the game against Burroughs was going to be tough, they are a great three-point shooting team and they also attack the basket well,”  said Mustangs head coach Erika Guijarro. Guijarro also conceded that Aakira Smith is the team’s secret weapon and a player who’s hard to stop on her good days when asked about her 11-point performance. 

Burroughs improves to 9-6 while Arleta falls to 8-5 on the season. Both teams will return to action on Thursday, January 2nd as Arleta will take on George Washington Prep at the Bernstein Tournament with tip-off scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Burroughs will take on Lakeview Charter in the first of three games in three days at the Providence Tournament with tip-off slated for 2:00 p.m.