Led by 11 points from Amy Gunther and 10 from Ilisapeti Saulala, the Live Oak girls basketball team took down Oak Grove 44-32 Tuesday night.
This was the second-straight win for the Acorns, who improve to 5-5 in Santa Teresa Division play and 12-8 overall.
“I keep preaching: We might be small, but we’re mighty,” said Live Oak coach Mike Kiefer. “When we box out, no one no matter how tall they are can stop us.”
Live Oak’s game last Friday was rescheduled because lights in the gym at Andrew Hill blew out, forcing the game to be moved this Saturday.
The Acorns showed a little rust in the beginning of the game, having come off a six-day layoff between games, but never trailed beyond the opening bucket.
Behind four points from Gunther, Saulala and Kristi Martinez-Kisso, the Acorns took a 14-8 lead after the first quarter.
“We know who our scorers are, but we do preach at practice that someone needs to step up in every game,” Kiefer said. “In the last four or five games, out post game has done its job.”
In the second, it was the defense’s turn to shine.
Behind six turnovers by the Eagles, Live Oak held Oak Grove to four points to close out the half and increase its lead to 23-12.
The Acorns’ 1-1-3 defense worked to a T, as Live Oak forced Oak Grove to take extra passes at times, leading to 19 turnovers for the game.
“Our defense has been on fire and they’ve been holding themselves accountable,” Kiefer said. “They’re setting a goal to what they want to hold a team to. We have a team belief that if we to an X number of points, that we should win every game. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t”
This especially helped when the Acorns had ball-control problems of their own in the third quarter, turning the ball over seven times.
Even so, Live Oak maintained a 10-point lead going to the fourth quarter.
The Acorns needed that margin, as a 6-2 run from Oak Grove cut the margin to as little as five.
But Live Oak kept pushing, getting key free throws from Fayth Lyon — who finished with nine points for the game — and Jocelyn Mendoza, who had a pair of free throws.
Shooting from the charity stripe proved pivotal, as Live Oak converted 10 of 15 chances compared to the four of 15 by the Eagles. Oak Grove in the second half was just two of 13 from the line.
The defense also kept Oak Grove’s offense from finding a true rhythm.
The Eagles didn’t have a shooter in double figures for the game, as post players Jhaina Stephens and Kimi Sato were held to eight points each. The rest of the team had a combined 16 points and no one with more than five.
“When both of them are in, they are a tough duo to contend with, especially when they are both on fire,” Kiefer said. “We were lucky we were attacking their bodies there in the first half and getting them into foul trouble.”
Stephens picked up her fourth foul in the first minute of the fourth quarter, and despite the coach aggressively subbing her in and out, she ended up picking up her fifth late in the quarter.
She had led all players in rebounds with 11.
Live Oak next travels to Independence for a 7 p.m. game on Thursday.
The Acorns will remain on the road to make up their game against Andrew Hill on Saturday, with tip off scheduled for 3 p.m.
