Oaks Christian girls' basketball squad loses a heartbreaker to Marlborough

SAD END-OCHS head coach Don McMaster consoles his team. ADAM DAVIS/Acorn Newspapers After nearly winning a CIF championship this season, the Oaks Christian High girls' basketball team has set its sights on bringing the first-place trophy back to campus next year.

The Lions, 21-10 overall and 8-0 in the Frontier League, lost to the Marlborough Mustangs of Los Angeles, 63-58, last Saturday at the Wellman Pyramid arena on the Cal State Long Beach campus in the title game for the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Division IVAA.

In double digits for OCHS were junior guard Michelle Clark, 23 points, sophomore guard Chelsea Carlisle, 22 points, and senior guard Danielle Chupp, 10 points.

For Marlborough, senior center Abi Olajuwon and sophomore guard Nikki Speed each had 17 points.

Both teams advanced to the CIF State Basketball Division IVAA Championships Tuesday.

The Lions traveled to play the La Jolla Country Day Torreys, where they lost, 64-60. Clark's 13 points and Carlisle's 11 led the Lions' scoring against La Jolla Country Day.

Looking ahead to the 2006-07 season, head coach Don McMaster is enthusiastic regarding the Lions' chances to play well and, he hopes, return to the Southern California title game.

"We have our two big CIF players back again," McMaster said. We have a girl who transferred who played on the JV team, (sophomore) Christine Escoto, a varsity player for sure. She'll step in and she's a good player. She played point guard for our JV team.

"One of our other subs, Keiosha Hunt, has a lot of playing time as a sophomore. She'll be back and be a starter unless someone else beats her out. That's projected, so we're ready to roll it out again," the coach said.

Clark said that she's confident for Oaks Christian's success next season.

"We can definitely do it next year," she said. "I know we can. I really have a lot of faith in our team. Losing the seniors is going to be really hard, but I know we can come back and do the same thing next year and win."

Clark said it's going to be hard to replace players like graduating seniors Chupp and forward/wing Devon Giuliani.

"They are two key players," Clark said. "They always work their hardest. They're always keeping our team up."

Carlisle said she, too, will miss Chupp and Giuliani.

"The two seniors we have this year are awesome players and (provide) great leadership," Carlisle said. "We are going to miss them terribly. At the same time, we have a very good solid group of players. I think we should right back here."

Clark said the Lions showed special character by uniting under a common goal.

"I honestly never have been on a closer team than this," she said. "Everyone just loves everyone else. We always hang out and stuff. We're all so nice to each other. There are no cliques. Everyone's just friends.

"I think that shows on the court," Carlisle said. "You see our bench cheering for the players on the court the whole time. Everyone has a positive attitude and encouraging each other. No one ever has a negative."

Delighted with the team's play this season and how it performed against Marlborough, McMaster said Oaks' ability to control the post and move away from the press during the second half was the main reason the Lions got back into the game.

"I thought our inside kids played super," he said. "I thought our guards played really good. We were up and they banked in a 3pointer with about a minute left, their only 3-pointer. They pressed; they put the pressure on us."

Further reflecting on his team's play, the coach said, "Last year we lost in the semifinals, so this year we won in the semifinals. They (Marlborough) made a couple of free throws in the end and it was a one or two-point game. Hopefully we get them again in state (championships)."

The Mustangs led by 14 points, 21-7, at the end of the first quarter. But Oaks Christian reduced Marlborough's advantage to four points, 29-25, at halftime.

Early in the third quarter, the Mustangs remained ahead by as much as nine points until the Lions got the edge, 39-38, in the final three minutes and held on for a 49-47 lead as the quarter ended.

OCHS outscored Marlborough in the third quarter, 24-18, but was outscored 16-9 and fell behind 5856 at 1:55 in the fourth quarter.

The Lions were never able to get closer.