Revenge plays a factor in OP win

By Kyle Jorrey jorrey@theacorn.com

STEPPING OUT-Oak Park sophomore guard Amanda Ruland had a game-high 20 points in the Eagles' 52-44 win over Chaminade, including 15 in the first half. Through 12 games she is the team's leading scorer, averaging over 16 points a contest.

Just about the exact moment USC quarterback Matt Leinhart was connecting on his fourth of a record five Orange Bowl touchdown passes, the Oak Park girls’ basketball team was taking the floor at its home court to undertake a task that to them meant more than any shiny crystal football trophy.

The Eagles were facing Chaminade, ranked No. 6 in the San Fernando Valley, and also the team that bumped OPHS out of the first round of the Div. IIIA playoffs last year, 65-61, in a game Oak Park led throughout. This disappointing early exit came after OPHS won both games in the regular season between the two teams.

It was a bad memory to be sure, and one that acted like a catalyst for a first quarter explosion that gave the Eagles (8-4) a sizeable early lead and catapulted them to a 52-44 win despite a below-average second half showing.

"We wanted to get them back for ending our season so early last year," senior center Alex Howard said. "It all started in the locker room. We just really focused and really got intense and came out ready to kick some butt."

A 20-4 first quarter run was sparked by rising star Amanda Ruland as the point guard hit the game’s first four shots and finished six-of-seven from the field in the first half—including three-of-four from outside the arc.

Sinking down in the key against Oak Park’s big three in the middle—Howard and seniors Summer Barry and Emily Medders—Chaminade continually gave Ruland a free look at the basket and the 5-7 sophomore continued to make them pay.

"We have three seniors over six feet and I knew they were going to give the most respect to them inside," said Ruland, who is averaging over 16 points a game. "I was just going to take my open looks and make them respect the outside shot."

And just as planned, as soon as Ruland got hot, opportunities opened up down low. Howard and Ruland combined for 25 of the Eagles’ 29 first-half points, giving the team a 29-21 lead at intermission.

Howard said Ruland’s rapid emergence as the team’s leading scorer has kept opposing defenses at bay, at least for now.

"She has improved so much this year that even though everyone has played us before they are not used to Amanda being as good as she is," the senior said. "She’s stepped up her game so much this year."

Ruland and Howard each recorded a game-high 20 points on a night when Oak Park never trailed.

DaCorsi, despite agonizing over a bevy of second-half turnovers and miscues that almost let Chaminade back in the game (at one point the score was 35-31), was happy with the victory.

"I think once the game got ugly we refocused, and once we did that and made our free throws and layups we did a good job," said DaCorsi, in his second-season at OPHS. "We did start to panic right down the stretch . . . we’re still looking for that killer instinct to put away games. But once we overcome that, we are going to be a really solid, well-rounded team."

Having proven completely dominant against Tri-Valley League opponents over the last four years (44 straight league wins and counting), the Eagles decided to schedule up this year in hopes of giving themselves better preparation for the playoffs. The decision has proven wise as Oak Park has performed admirably against bigger programs like Ventura and Thousand Oaks. All four Eagle losses have come against Div. I opponents.

"It’s definitely been a benefit," Ruland said. "We know (coach DaCorsi) scheduled harder for a purpose, and that was to prepare us for when it really counts, which is CIF."

In the meantime, the Eagles are preparing to start another defense of their TVL streak. Oak Park kickoffs league play with an improved Carpinteria team next Tuesday at home.

According to Howard, a four-year varsity player who has the opportunity to possibly go 40-0 in her career against the TVL, the streak means a lot to the team’s 12 players—and they know keeping it going won’t come easy.

"Everyone is coming at us because they know we are the team to beat," Howard said. "Teams always play better against us because they just want to take that away from us, but we’re not going to let them."

Ruland agreed.

"Every team in the league wants to beat Oak Park," she said. "We’re not taking the league lightly because we know every night we have a target on our backs."

The Eagles return three starters—Howard, Medders and junior guard Nicole Shaver—from a team that went 19-7 last season.