Lady Falcons lose consecutive games, and their star player as well.

By Alan der OHANNESSIAN

It was a rough week for the Lady Falcons leading up to Wednesday’s game at Hoover. They lost last Friday at Burbank 41-34, and suffered more damage on Monday at Burroughs.

In that game, a 33-32 loss to the Indians, sophomore guard Ella Stepanian left early in the fourth quarter after hitting her head on the hardwood while going after a rebound. She left the game and did not return. Stepanian had 14 points, six rebounds and three blocks at the time, but her team let a late lead slip away, and the Falcons suffered their second straight league defeat.

Indians center Aysia Shellmire had a game-high 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

As of Wednesday night, the Falcons are sixth in the Pacific League at 1-2 (the league has eight teams) and are 9-6 overall.

The Pacific League has proven to be tough for CV to generate offense. The Falcons didn’t score over 40 points against all three league opponents the last two weeks. Previously, in their pre-league schedule, CV averaged 49.3 points per game.

Their offensive struggles were on display against Burbank and their coach, Bruce Breeden, former coach of the Lady Falcons.

While the Falcons were struggling on both sides of the court, the Bulldogs were the exact opposite. Defensively, their clamp down on players led to several shot clock violations and turnovers.

Also, they neutralized Stepanian, the leading scorer for the Falcons, as she scored only one basket during the first half.

While they outscored the Bulldogs 12-7 in the second half, they couldn’t capitalize on the opposition’s mistakes to extend their run. Stepanian and guard Catherine Davis missed several two and three-pointers. Also, they weren’t making most of their free throws, and they missed several defensive rebound opportunities.

The Lady Falcons will try and rebound Friday when they travel to Pasadena to play the Bulldogs at 5:45 p.m.