Village Christian girls basketball finishes undefeated in league with win over Heritage Christian
SUN VALLEY — Four years of basketball, four years of rivalry wins.
Village Christian girls basketball beat Heritage Christian 62-39 on Tuesday to send Crusaders senior Madison Mulligan out with a win streak against the rival school.
“I’ve been a part of the team for four years now,” Mulligan said, “and getting the senior night win every year has been such a big thing to honor our seniors. Being the one this year just feels really special.”
Village Christian (18-8 overall, 8-0 Olympic League) shared the ball well with four players each scoring at least eight points in the game. Three reached double digits — Maddy Boquiren led the group with 18 points, Mulligan added 14 points and Sandrina Panaligan scored 12 points.
The individual contributions helped the Crusaders earn their third straight undefeated Olympic League title.
“These rivalry games are intense, no matter what level the teams are at,” Village Christian head coach Vince DeGuzman said. “Everyone wants to be on their A game. Hopefully, that prepares us down the line for a playoff game.”
Jolie Ambartsumyan (eight points) scored on a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer to give Village Christian a 20-6 advantage with 1:45 remaining in the first quarter, but it was the Crusaders’ defense that set the tone in the second frame.
Ambartsumyan, a 6-foot-3 freshman center, was ready for defensive rebounds and Leah Yesayan forced a turnover with roughly six minutes until halftime. She dished the ball to Mulligan, who hit a corner 3 for a 25-6 lead.
Heritage Christian (12-14, 4-4) shot 50% from the free throw line to put up six points in the second quarter but struggled to find the net otherwise. It was enough to take the Crusaders out of rhythm, though, and DeGuzman called a timeout midway through the frame to urge his team to wake up.
Boquiren set the offense in motion again with a layup that gave Village Christian a 41-24 lead. She provided another spark in the fourth quarter with back-to-back layups.
“We were just getting a bit relaxed, lackadaisical,” Mulligan said. “We started ball-watching instead of actually playing. I think that timeout helped us to bring back the energy to bring back our aggressiveness.”
Mulligan, the team’s lone senior, leads all players in points per game (13.7), steals per game (3.3) and 3-point percentage (36%). She and the team are striving for a deep playoff run that well surpasses last season’s first-round elimination.
Village Christian has one more nonleague game against Valencia before the playoffs begin. CIF Southern Section pairings will be released Saturday at noon.
“They’re unselfish,” DeGuzman said of the team’s players. “Most nights they play defense really well and on any given night, it can be someone else’s night (to lead the scoring). We preach that in the locker room — if it’s not your night, we’re deep. They’re buying into it and they’re not scared.”