The Live Oak Acorns girls basketball team earned second place at
the Monta Vista Tournament over the weekend and improved their
season record to 4-4, just one win shy of last season’s entire win
total.
Morgan Hill – The Live Oak Acorns girls basketball team earned second place at the Monta Vista Tournament over the weekend and improved their season record to 4-4, just one win shy of last season’s entire win total.
The Acorns fired off a three game win streak leading up to the championship game of the tournament where they fell to a very tough, undefeated Burlingame team, 56-25.
“The tournament was good for us,” said Live Oak coach Jeff Perkins. “We beat two good teams and learned by playing a real good team in the championship game. We hung in there and played hard until the end. Things are starting to fall into place.”
Acorns’ senior Annalise Curley and junior Megan Gulla were voted to the all-tournament team for their solid play over the weekend.
A taller, stronger Burlingame team dominated the Acorns in the championship game. Live Oak did not shoot well from the floor because Burlingame contested all of its shots.
Curley led the Acorns offense with nine points, two steals and one blocked shot in the loss.
“Burlingame is an excellent team and they pulled away in the third quarter,” said Perkins. “They were much taller than us and dominated on rebounds.”
Leading up to the loss to Burlingame, Live Oak pulled off wins against Alvarez last Tuesday 53-19, Monta Vista on Thursday 54-50, and Scotts Valley on Friday 52-48.
In their win over Alvarez, the Acorns dominated the entire game and held the Eagles scoreless in the third quarter.
Gulla led the offense for Live Oak putting up 14 points, three assists and three steals in the win while Curley contributed 13 points and three steals. Mattie Borges posted a double-double for the Acorns with 13 rebounds, 10 points and also had two blocked shots.
“The girls played really well,” said Perkins. “As a team we were executing and it was a chance for everybody to play.”
On Thursday, the Acorns kicked off action in the Monta Vista Tournament with a close win over the host Matadors. Colleen Henningsen led Live Oak with 12 points and four rebounds and Gulla continued her solid play adding 11 points, nine rebounds and three assists in the win.
Live Oak extended its winning streak on Friday by narrowly defeating the Scotts Valley Falcons, despite losing starting guard Sarah Goodere to a sprained ankle, to advance to the tournament’s championship game.
Gulla had another outstanding offensive showing, recording 16 points, five blocked shots and three rebounds in the win. Curley finished with 13 points, five rebounds, five steals and three assists for the Acorns, while Henningsen added 10 points.
“We don’t know how long Goodere is going to be out,” said Perkins. “She went down on Friday and Saturday she was on crutches. We’ll need players to step up to help out.”
Overall, Perkins was happy with his team’s performance over the last week and hopes that they can continue their solid play when they return to action against Monterey tonight.
