It was a tough week for the varsity girls basketball team. On Wednesday night, Jan. 11 the girls lost on a last second three-point shot by East Union to fall 42-41 and two nights later the girls dropped their third straight game with a 49-44 home loss to Weston Ranch.
It was a slow start by both offenses in the game against East Union, as the score was just 8-6 Oakdale after the first eight minutes of the game. In the second quarter Zoe Gillen took over for Oakdale. The sophomore center scored a game high 21 points including 12 in the first half to give Oakdale an18-13 halftime lead. East Union opened the third quarter on a 10-0 run to give them their first lead of the game. The Lady Mustangs regained the lead following an Allissa Gutierrez steal and assist to Gillen, who knocked down the jumper to give Oakdale a 25-23 lead with 3:11 left in the third.
Oakdale led 31-27 after three quarters of play. East Union stormed back in the fourth quarter tying the game at 36 with 4:45 left in regulation. Down 39-38, Gillen scored on an eight-foot jumper to give Oakdale a 40-39 advantage with 2:06 left to go in the game. With 24.2 seconds remaining, Oakdale had that same lead and had possession of the ball. East Union fouled Gillen to stop the clock with 14.4 left. Gillen spilt her free throws, giving Oakdale a 41-39 lead. But East Union then connected on a three-point shot with 2.8 seconds left to silence the home crowd and left the Lady Mustangs in disbelief.
“I was really hoping to win tonight, we put in so much work and wanted this. Our effort was there but could not close it out,” Gillen said.
Thursday night, Gillen once again led all scorers, putting in 16 points against Weston Ranch. Maddy Brewer scored 11 for Oakdale in the loss. The Lady Mustangs (11-6, 1-3) will travel to Lathrop tonight, Wednesday, Jan. 18 to take on the Spartans. They return home on Friday night, Jan. 20 to take on Central Catholic. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. for both games.
JUNIOR VARSITY
The junior varsity girls split their two VOL games this past week. Oakdale lost to East Union 58-41 despite a double-double by Caroline Hamilton, who had 13 points and 14 rebounds. The JV girls bounced back on Thursday with a 63-42 home win over Weston Ranch. Hamilton scored 15 points; Hadi Morton scored 12 points and added 10 rebounds for Oakdale.
FRESHMEN
It was a pair of losses for the young team in their pair of VOL games, taking a tough 39-29 loss to East Union and a 44-19 home loss to Weston Ranch. Jazmin Martinez scored 19 points for Oakdale against East Union.
“She is making a great adjustment to the point guard position,” said head coach Gary Smith.
