Perkins ‘excited’ for this year’s group
MORGAN HILL — If earning respect is still part of the rite of passage for freshmen on varsity, Live Oak’s Fa Saulala has passed the test with flying colors.
Ask senior post Ariana Guerrero. Each practice, she has the privilege of matching up against the 5-foot-10 rookie, who is listed at post but plays like a power forward.
“When I’m against her, I’m just like, ‘Dang! She’s intimidating,” Guerrero said. “She’s incredibly strong at practice. I feel like I’ve improved, playing against her.”
Saulala’s size and speed were on display in Tuesday’s 46-27 loss to Sobrato, when she collected 10 rebounds and eight points. Saulala played with a sprained finger — courtesy of Guerrero.
“I accidentally bent her finger back in our last game,” Guerrero said. “Fa was in a lot of pain, but she hasn’t let it stop her. She’s a tough girl.”
The first thing teammates and Lady Acorns coach Jeff Perkins will tell you about Saulala is, “Did you see her in volleyball season?” Switching in at outside hitter, Saulala played an integral part in Live Oak’s return to the Central Coast Section playoffs this fall.
Perkins hopes she can help kindle something equally special for his team, which totaled a single win in the 2008-09 season.
“We start every year in the position to make the playoffs,” the sixth-year coach said. “That is the goal: Do whatever it takes to make the playoffs. That requires us to win more game.
“I think the hardest part right now is getting the girls to believe in themselves. It’s a really good group. We have a lot of experience. Then you throw in the new talent like Fa. I’m really excited about this team.”
The Acorns are in good shape experience-wise. They return four starters, plus a would-be fifth in speedy junior guard Meghan Perez, who was injured for most of last season. Coming off the bench, she provides a good complement to third-year starting point guard, Niki Patel, a second-team all-West Valley Division honoree in 2007-08.
Perkins went with size Tuesday, starting Saulala, Guerrero, 5-foot-11 senior Jacey Turay and Danielle Dukes, another senior. Saulala was the lone underclassmen.
“One of our strengths is, we’re fast,” Perkins said. “We can cover a lot of ground and create scoring opportunities.”
The Acorns (0-2 overall) have struggled to finish. They have not surrendered a glaring amount of points this year, but they also haven’t scored 30 points.
“Our defense is working pretty well. We really need to work on our offense,” Turay said. “Defense has kept us in, but we need to score. We want to win some games this year.”
