Liberty League

NORTHEAST GLENDALE - Throughout most of Thursday's 80-minute Liberty League girls' soccer match between Glendale Adventist Academy and Providence High, Providence enjoyed a major territorial advantage. It also had a significant edge in scoring opportunities. However, the Pioneers couldn't reap the benefit and saw the Cougars take advantage of one of their few chances. Daniece Poblete scored on a rebound off a corner kick in the first half and goalkeeper Victoria Osby made 12 saves to propel Glendale Adventist to a 1-0 victory against Providence at the Glendale Sports Complex.

GIRLS? SOCCER Burroughs 6, Muir 2: Anabell Gonzalez scored two goals Tuesday to lead the Indians to a Pacific League win on the road. Pasadena 3, Burbank 1 : The Bulldogs gave up two second-half goals Friday in losing the Pacific League match. Ashley Ortiz scored the Bulldogs? lone goal on an assist from Jennifer Seip. ? GIRLS? BASKETBALL Providence 49, Yeshiva 19 : Pioneers Coach Andrew Bencze notched his 201st career win Jan. 31 in a Liberty League victory at home.

TullyGIRLS' BASKETBALL Providence 62, Oakwood 34: Vanessa Amran scored 23 points and had 12 rebounds Tuesday to keep the Pioneers undefeated in the Liberty League. Melissa Rosal added 14 points and three three-pointers for Providence (13-5, 6-0 in league). Providence 52, Yeshiva 27: The Pioneers remained in first place in the Liberty League with a victory Saturday on the road. Providence was paced by Vanessa Amran, who scored 14 points and had nine rebounds. Teammate Melissa Rosal added 11 points and Heather Hansen and Jennifer Jones had nine points each.

BOYS' BASKETBALL Providence 85, Glendale Adventist Academy 54 : Patrick Gonzalez continued his fine season Thursday by pouring in 43 points— including eight three-pointers — to spark the Pioneers to a Liberty League road win. Gonzalez came into the game averaging 36.6 points a game. Providence (9-7, 2-2 in league) held a 47-22 lead at the half, paced by Gonzalez's 31 points in the first two quarters. Tyler Kidd added 19 points for the Pioneers Providence 85, Oakwood 78 : Providence's Patrick Gonzalez scored 49 points and had 17 redounds in leading the Pioneers to a Liberty League win Tuesday on the road.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL Providence 56, Yeshiva 24 : The Pioneers earned their second straight Liberty League victory this week by defeating the Panthers Thursday at home. Senior Heather Hansen led Providence (10-7, 2-0 in league) with 18 points, seven rebounds and six steals. Teammates Liz Reuter and Macy Tone added eight points each. The Pioneers are the defending league champions. Providence, 25, Holy Martyrs 23 : With the score tied at 23, Heather Hansen converted two free throws with less than a minute left Tuesday to pace the Pioneers to a win in their Liberty League opener on the road.

Melik Anderson, a 6-foot-7 sophomore boys' basketball player who transferred to Providence High after playing as a freshman last season at Alemany, has been ruled ineligible by the CIF Southern Section, Pioneers Athletic Director Andrew Bencze said Wednesday. Bencze said Anderson's transfer paperwork was submitted to the Southern Section on Oct. 10 and the decision on his eligibility was finalized Oct. 30. Anderson was looked on as a welcomed addition to a Providence squad that already included All-State and All-American sophomore standout Marcus LoVett Jr. "We accepted Melik as a student at Providence, not a basketball player," Bencze said.

TRACK AND FIELD Bellarmine-Jefferson vs. St. Anthony : The Guards girls? team earned a 51-40 Santa Cruz League win and the boys? squad fell, 54-51, in Santa Fe League action Wednesday against St. Anthony at Clark Field in Long Beach. ?We had some key athletes missing from both teams because they were attending a senior retreat,? Bell-Jeff Coach Mike Morgan said. ?We could have really used them on the boys? side.? In the win, freshman Rishonda Napier ? fresh off helping the school?

The Providence High softball team's season came to an end Friday with a 12-0 loss to host Santa Maria Valley Christian in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division VI playoffs. The game was called after five innings because of the 10-run mercy rule. The Pioneers (10-11) -- who finished tied for second in the Liberty League -- couldn't contain the Lions (18-5), who won the Costal Valley League. They also got just two hits off Valley Christian pitcher Christine Regalado, who had 10 strikeouts.

TullyGIRLS' WATER POLO Burroughs 12, Alhambra 4: The Indians received a fine effort from senior Liz Seward Wednesday in recording an Almont League win at home. Seward scored six goals and teammate Bailey Porter had three, Karissa Peltier had two and Casey Pillar had one. In goal, Carly Delaplane made 10 saves. BOYS' BASKETBALL Hart 69, Burroughs 68: Burroughs (18-5, 4-3 in league) dropped to third place in the Foothill League with a home loss Tuesday. Valencia 70, Burbank 55: The Bulldogs (8-15, 2-5)

TullyBOYS' BASKETBALL Providence 63, Yeshiva 41: The Pioneers remained undefeated in the Liberty League with a victory Wednesday at home. John Shaw had 19 points and Jon Martinez added 16 for Providence (9-4, 2-0 in league). GIRLS' BASKETBALL Providence 54, Yeshiva 29: Vanessa Amran paced the Pioneers with a dominating performance Wednesday in a nonleague victory at Providence. Amran, a senior forward, had 24 points and 11 rebounds for Providence (10-5, 2-0)

BURBANK - It was a battle of the Liberty League's top two teams, as well as the two most potent offenses in the league, when the Providence High softball team took on Faith Baptist on Thursday. While the Pioneers entered the contest averaging a league-best 19.5 runs in four games, the Contenders averaged nearly 16 runs in five games. However, while there wasn't a big discrepancy in the team's offensive numbers, the defensive numbers were vastly different, as Faith Baptist surrendered only two runs in its five games and Providence gave up 27. The Contenders' ability to limit their opponent's offense came into play Thursday when they held the Pioneers to just one hit. That helped Faith Baptist earn a 10-0 victory against Providence at Olive Park.

Bea Benedicto leaves the Providence High girls' basketball program with an impressive list of accomplishments after four years with the program. Along with helping the Pioneers capture four straight Liberty League championships, Benedicto was an important contributor to teams that made back-to-back appearances in the CIF Southern Section semifinals, as well as the state tournament. Although Benedicto was a dominating force during her junior season a year ago, she had to share the Liberty League Player of the Year award.

NORTH HOLLYWOOD - It wasn't a cakewalk for the Providence High girls' basketball team. Despite enjoying a pair of big leads early on against Buckley, the final of the Liberty League Tournament got interesting late for the Pioneers. “We've played 25 games, and you can see that all of the games we've played have prepared us for this,” said Providence Coach Andrew Bencze. “To be in a tight game, not to panic. We got a little panicky early and settled down at the end. We found our groove.

Melik Anderson, a 6-foot-7 sophomore boys' basketball player who transferred to Providence High after playing as a freshman last season at Alemany, has been ruled ineligible by the CIF Southern Section, Pioneers Athletic Director Andrew Bencze said Wednesday. Bencze said Anderson's transfer paperwork was submitted to the Southern Section on Oct. 10 and the decision on his eligibility was finalized Oct. 30. Anderson was looked on as a welcomed addition to a Providence squad that already included All-State and All-American sophomore standout Marcus LoVett Jr. "We accepted Melik as a student at Providence, not a basketball player," Bencze said.

PROVIDENCE HIGH - He could have pointed to his opponent's best player as the reason for his squad's downfall. Or he could have pointed to his team's lack of consistency as the reason for its Liberty League loss. But Providence High girls' volleyball coach Josh Eggleston pointed to the Pioneers' errors that led to Buckley's 25-19, 20-25, 27-25, 25-14 victory Tuesday at Providence. Providence committed 12, 14 and 10 errors, respectively, in the games it lost, struggling to put together rallies and falling to 11-8, 5-3 in league.

This is the fourth in a four-part series looking back on the sports accomplishments of the four local high schools during the 2011-12 year. This installment is Providence High : Basketball reigned supreme at Providence High during the 2011-12 campaign. The Pioneers boys' and girls' teams had similar success, as they both captured Liberty League championships, enjoyed deep runs in the CIF Southern Section playoffs and qualified for the state tournament. Under Coach Andrew Bencze, the girls' squad (27-6)

PROVIDENCE HIGH — Providence High's boys' volleyball team has had a problem maintaining its intensity throughout the course of an entire match this season. When the Pioneers keep their intensity level high, they can compete against the top teams in the Liberty League. However, when that intensity falters, Providence often struggles against vastly inferior squads. Still in contention for a league championship, the Pioneers needed a spirited effort Tuesday against Oakwood to stay in contention.

PROVIDENCH HIGH — Providence High just wanted to get back to the business of playing basketball. And the Pioneers did so in historic fashion. Putting behind it a game four days earlier in which its second-round boys' contest with New Roads had to be halted in the fourth quarter because of a fight, Providence got back on track Tuesday in a CIF Southern Section Division V-A quarterfinal game against Shalhevet. Getting a boost from the return of Patrick Gonzalez from a foot injury, the Pioneers staved off at late rally by the Firehawks to earn a 59-54 victory at home.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE - Throughout most of Thursday's 80-minute Liberty League girls' soccer match between Glendale Adventist Academy and Providence High, Providence enjoyed a major territorial advantage. It also had a significant edge in scoring opportunities. However, the Pioneers couldn't reap the benefit and saw the Cougars take advantage of one of their few chances. Daniece Poblete scored on a rebound off a corner kick in the first half and goalkeeper Victoria Osby made 12 saves to propel Glendale Adventist to a 1-0 victory against Providence at the Glendale Sports Complex.

GLENDALE - The Liberty League match Tuesday between Providence High and Glendale Adventist Academy meant inherently more to the Pioneers than the Cougars.   With just one league victory going in, Providence Coach Josh Eggleston said it was a match his team had to win if it hoped to keep its postseason aspirations alive. On the other hand, with no league wins, the Cougars were hoping to pull off an upset. Although Glendale Adventist played well in the first two games of the afternoon, the Pioneers' experience was too much for the hosts to overcome, as Providence went on to notch a 25-19, 25-23, 25-16 win. "I had talked to the team about how important getting a win in this one was," said Eggleston, whose team is 3-7, 2-2 in league.