Kylie Gust heroically drained three straight free throws with .6 seconds remaining in regulation to launch Oakdale High’s varsity girls basketball team into an overtime contest against East Union on Jan. 24.

The Lancers responded with a 10-7 advantage in extra time to edge the Lady Mustangs 38-35 in what became Oakdale’s best shot at a Valley Oak League victory.

The Mustangs (4-17 overall) still have their final six games of the season to earn a conference win.

“The girls were visibly upset after the game,” Oakdale coach Justin Schwitters said. “They have been working really hard and they really wanted to get a win under their belt.

“It was right within their grasp.”

Oakdale had allowed East Union to snare a 46-28 win on Jan. 9, but charged back in the final seconds to nearly best the longtime VOL stalwart in their second meeting.

Oakdale trailed by three with seconds to play and found Gust with the ball beyond the arc as time expired. She sent up a shot, was fouled, and watched in dismay as her shot rattled in and out for a missed four-point-play opportunity.

She would go on to drain all of the ensuing shots from the foul line with the game on the line and finished with 18 points to lead the Lady Mustangs. Francesca Orvis would score seven.

“We game-planned pretty well for them,” coach Schwitters said. “We led in the first quarter and at halftime.

“The same team scored 28 points in a half against us the first time we played them, so to hold them to 28 points through four quarters showed how hard we worked, defensively.”

Oakdale was still reeling from a 60-25 loss to Manteca two days prior. The varsity girls got a shot to claim victory against Sierra (6-14, 2-6) on Tuesday, but results were not available at press time.

Oakdale hosts Weston Ranch on Thursday, Jan. 31 and is at Kimball on Feb. 5.

“We are just going to keep working on shooting,” Schwitters said. “Hopefully we can continue to grow and make shots.”