Andrea Aparico leads the Lady Bulldogs with 20 points in the victory over the Lady Pioneers 

The Burbank Lady Bulldogs continued their red hot start to the season with an impressive 68-22 win over the Simi Valley Lady Pioneers behind Andrea Aparico’s 20 point performance. The Lady Bulldogs entered the home opener following a 3-1 record at the Sacred Heart Tournament while Simi Valley came off a 31-47 loss to Fillmore last Tuesday. 

Ani Khachatryan and Manina Tuputupu got the Lady Bulldogs off to a fast start early with back-to-back layups to give them an early 4-0 lead over the Lady Pioneers to start the opening quarter. Angela Fox got Simi Valley on the board with her first basket to cut the Burbank lead to two. Tuputupu then scored back-to-back buckets to get Burbank up 8-2. Yvette Soukiazian and Aparico both helped the Lady Bulldogs get the lead up to 12 over the Lady Pioneers. Peyton Yeager ended Burbank’s scoring run with a two-point layup to make the score 14-4.

Khachatryan sank a three-point basket and Burbank continued to pull away in the first quarter following a Simi Valley 24-second violation. Soukiazian scored back-to-back two-point baskets and Rhiley Ocampo converted a layup to give the Lady Bulldogs a 23-4 lead over the Lady Pioneers. Jolene Vartanian followed with a bank shot to increase the Lady Bulldog lead to 21 over Simi Valley. Natalie Megerdichian nailed all three of her foul shots to end the first quarter and give Burbank a 28-4 lead over Simi Valley. 

Peyton Yeager got the scoring started for the Lady Pioneers to start the second quarter with a two point bank shot to make it a 28-6 game. Ocampo then scored back-to-back layups to get the lead up to 26. Angela Fox responded with a two-point basket with the Lady Pioneers still training 32-8. The Bulldogs went on a scoring run with baskets by Aparico, Khachatryan and Vartanian. Yeager ended the scoring run by making one of two free throw attempts at the line to close out the first half. Burbank led 45-9 over Simi Valley at the halftime break. 

Following the halftime break, Aparico and Soukiazian scored consecutive baskets to help the Lady Bulldogs lead 49-9. Aparico then recorded three straight layups to get the lead up to 46 for Burbank. Emma Alpaugh then got Simi Valley on the board with three straight points. Ocampo, Aparico, and Soukiazian scored three straight baskets to help get the score to 61-14. Emma Alpaugh scored a two point hook shot in which Simi Valley trailed 61-16 heading into the final quarter of play. 

Soukiazian and Natalie Fadel traded points to start the fourth quarter for their respective teams. Soukiazian nailed down a three-point shot and Fadel scored a two-point basket. Vartanian increased the Lady Bulldog lead to 46 with a two point basket. Angela Fox and Sam Reynosa both nailed their foul shots to make it a 68-22 game. 

“The fast start is credited to the girls putting in all the hard work so far and the tireless commitment is paying off with why we’ve been getting lots of wins to start the season.” said Alexa Mirzaian. Mirzaian also added that the girls picked up the intensity on both ends of the floor after a sloppy start to begin the game. 

Burbank improves to 6-1 and Simi Valley falls to 0-4 on the season. Both teams will return to action on Thursday, December 4th as Burbank will take on Grant on the first day of the Burbank High Girls Varsity Basketball Tournament with tip off slated for 7:30 p.m. and Simi Valley will take on Bishop Diego (Santa Barbara) at the Royal Winter Tournament with tip off slated for 4:30 p.m.