OCHS girls’ basketball squad downs Malibu

It was off to the races Tuesday night as the Oaks Christian girls’ basketball team used a swarming defense and an unrelenting fast break offense to sprint past Frontier League rival Malibu, 66-29, for their fifth win in six games.

With their talented backcourt making the most of the home team’s miscues, the Lions (11-8, 2-0) lunged out to a 23-7 first-quarter lead and never looked back, continually frustrating their opponent with a full-court press that led to one easy basket after another.

At one point in the third quarter, Oaks Christian held a 50-15 advantage.

“We got a lot of layups tonight,” said head coach Don McMaster, who gave his players the green light from the opening whistle to push the ball whenever possible. “A lot of the time, they just weren’t getting back on defense and we made them pay.”

The bulk of the scoring came once again from guards Chelsea Carlisle and Michelle Clark, who finished with 19 and 17 points, respectively.

Like hot knives through butter, the two girls glided through the Malibu defense from start to finish, creating scoring opportunities for both themselves and their teammates.

Though Clark is a junior and Carlisle just a sophomore, the two gifted ball handlers have taken to the leadership roles on the team, along with seniors Danielle Chupp and Devon Giuliani, understanding that as they go—so will the Lions.

“They’re aware of the pressure that’s on them every game we play,” McMaster said of his backcourt tandem. “But they have very high expectations of themselves. They’re their toughest critics.”

With the victory, Oaks Christian remains undefeated in the Frontier League with only Santa Paula (Jan. 24) left to play.

A year after losing a heartbreaker to Winward in the CIF Div. IV-A semifinals and graduating All-CIF guard Kayla Rutherford, the Lions seem to be progressing nicely, which is good, considering the team’s lofty goals.

“We’re happy with the way we’ve been playing, but we have fairly high expectations for this team,” said McMaster, who’s in his sixth season as head coach of the program. “We only want to get better.”

OCHS travels today to play Santa Barbara before returning home Tuesday to take on Santa Paula, a squad with just two wins all season.