Buena blasts Glendale

GLENDALE — Glendale High girls' basketball Coach Tania Adary was quick to confirm she's hopeful that any future Nitros playoff endeavors don't find them up against Buena.

For the second time in three seasons, the Bulldogs proved too much for the visiting Nitros, who lost to the second-seeded squad, 78-34, in the opening round of the CIF Southern Section Division II-A on Thursday evening.

"Yeah, that's for sure," said Adary when asked if she'd rather not see Buena in the playoffs again anytime soon.

In 2009, Buena also defeated Glendale in the opening round, 63-35.

This time around, paced by Keani Albanez' game-high 19 points, Buena used a quick start and an overwhelming size advantage to take the game early.

"They jumped out," said Adary, whose team fell behind, 21-5, after the first quarter and 37-15 at the half. "We told them before the game, too, it's a team you can't dig out of [holes] easily."

But, the Nitros (14-13) found themselves in an insurmountable hole early against the Bulldogs (21-6), who won the Channel League title.

Buena had five players that were 5-foot-10 or taller.

"It was one of those days when we just got outrebounded," Adary said, "and they got second and third attempts."

Glendale, which tied for fourth in the Pacific League and made the playoffs with an at-large berth, was led by 17 points from Stella Ghazarian. Ghazarian, along with Serah Mirzaeian and Keasha Luna will be key losses to graduation for Adary, but she said she has three returning starters and a junior varsity squad that won a league title to build on.