Tornadoes fall way short to league opponent

SOUTH PASADENA — A sign that things weren’t clicking for the Hoover High girls’ basketball team came in the first minute.

After watching his team fall behind quickly following three turnovers, Hoover second-year Coach Martik Ghookasian called a timeout.

“I don’t know if we didn’t click or we started off without having the right attitude,” said Ghookasian, whose team was handed a 31-7 loss by Pacific League foe Arcadia on Wednesday afternoon in a South Pasadena High Summer League contest. “I think we were just too soft and not alert mentally right off the bat.

“The key for us now is to not lose our focus and not panic [the rest of summer].”

Arcadia, which split a pair of league games last season against Hoover, led throughout the entire 40-minute game. In fact, Arcadia jumped out to a 14-0 lead before Hoover finally got on the board on a layup by Kariz Alberto with 9:45 left.

Hoover, which did not qualify for the playoffs last season, got its final point of the half on a free throw by Jessica Mkrtchyan with 1:05 left to cut the lead to 17-3.

The Apaches held a 19-3 halftime advantage.

Hoover’s only second-half points came on a pair of free throws by Sharis Rostamian and a layup by Lauraine Barakat.

Rostamian’s free throws brought Hoover to within 29-5 with 9:47 left, and Barakat’s basket made it 31-7 with 3:17 remaining.

Hoover, which competed later Wednesday against La Salle in a Burbank High Summer League contest, couldn’t get things going despite playing a league opponent for the first time in the South Pasadena Summer League.

“The basic thing for us is going to be trying to work on things like jumping, facing the basket and making bounce passes,” said Ghookasian, whose team committed 23 turnovers. “I noticed that our weakness is against full-court pressure.

“A lot of points are given up off turnovers. It’s about mental alertness and getting more experience. The things that we do bad or not well enough, I’m thinking about showing tape so they can see the mistakes.”

Hoover, which had 13 first-half turnovers, will compete in six more games in the South Pasadena League, beginning with a contest at 8 p.m. Monday against South Pasadena.

From there, the Tornadoes will meet San Marino at 5 p.m. Wednesday, followed by Flintridge Prep at 6 p.m. July 13, Westridge at 5 p.m. July 15, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy at 7 p.m. July 20 and Maranatha at 4 p.m. July 22.

Hoover finished last season at 5-17 and 2-12 in league.

The Tornadoes lost their last eight games of the season.