One for the ages: Turnover clinches win for Live Oak in 46-43 thriller over Sobrato

Fans in the stands inside Live Oak’s gym roared the entire night, giving a mid-December girls basketball game a feel you don’t expect until February.
Each side cheered and groaned with every play, making a game — that wasn’t even so much a league contest — the look and feel of a playoff match up. And the teams didn’t disappoint.
Live Oak squeaked by cross-town rival Sobrato 46-43 in a game that came down to a turnover with 21 seconds left.
“One of the things that I stress in practice is mental toughness,” said Live Oak coach Michael Kiefer. “We do a lot of mental toughness drills and it’s all designed for that moment.”
The Acorns led by three thanks to a layup by Hanna Doting. Sobrato went down the floor where Hazel Hill hit one of two free throws to make it a two-point game with a little more than a minute to play.
“I’m happy with my team overall, I’m happy with my coach,” Hill said. “During one of the timeouts I encouraged (my team) to not give up and not give in and to be determined and they said ‘let’s go get this. Let’s get this win.’
“Right now, we only have one senior, so we played for her. I’m happy to say that we worked hard for her and for the team.”
Twice the Bulldogs got stops on the other end, but twice they turned the ball over to the Acorns.
The biggest came with 21 seconds left when Fayth Lyon forced Sobrato to knock the ball out of bounds and Live Oak killed all but two seconds from the clock.
Emily Conlan went up for a shot in the waning seconds and was fouled hard with a pair of ticks remaining. She hit the first free throw, but missed the second. The loose ball was secured by Amy Gunther and the ball game was over.
Kiefer said the missed free throw was not designed, even if it worked out. He said the team will still have to do some running at the next practice as a result.
The Gold Team fans rushed the court, jumping and cheering the victory.
It was a fitting end for a game that saw lead change after lead change and clutch shots from both sides down the stretch.
Kiefer said he had never seen the turnout by fans for a game since Live Oak and Gilroy played in a TCAL matchup before Sobrato came into existence.
Conlan was happy to have the fans cheering them on the entire way.
“The fans, we wouldn’t be anything without them. Gold Team rules,” she said.
While the intensity was magnified by the cheering off the court, the intensity on the court showed the toughness both teams possess, especially a very young Sobrato squad.
“I’m impressed. We were neck-and-neck, going back and forth. Both teams played with heart from the beginning buzzer to the end,” said Sobrato coach Erica Wallace. “I’m impressed. Last year, they definitely beat us by a lot. This year we came out and kept it neck-and-neck. I’m proud.”
Tauheedah Id-Deen scored four points quick succession midway through the fourth quarter to give Sobrato a short-lived two-point lead.
Doting and Lyon each hit key buckets to give Live Oak a one-point lead at 42-41.
But Hill turned around and tied the game with a free throw only to see the Acorns’ Gunther sink a free throw of her own for a lead that ultimately Live Oak didn’t relinquish.
After a Live Oak stop, Doting hit her layup for a 45-42 lead, setting up the dramatic end.
Sobrato’s Hill had 12 points to lead the Bulldogs along with Id-Deen.
Gunther led all shooters with 14 points and added five rebounds.
Hill led both teams in pulling down balls off the glass with 12. Vanessa Gonzalez had eight boards followed by Id-Deen with six.
Both coaches praised Hill’s effort for the evening. Live Oak’s coach called her a “beast” and noted how she has made an enormous leap in her game over just the last year.
Wallace likewise complemented her center’s work ethic to improve.
“She went from not playing her freshman year to being my star player, or one of them,” Wallace said.
Wallace also gave credit to Gonzalez who is running the team from the point as just a sophomore.
Live Oaks’ Jocelyn Mendoza led the Acorns with 10 rebounds to go with her seven points.
The game could not have started better for Sobrato, jumping out to a quick 10-3 lead in the first quarter.
Live Oak clawed back, pulling to within two late in the frame at 11-9, but Sobrato finished the quarter with the final two baskets.
The Acorns then opened the second quarter going on a 13-4 scoring run and ultimately took a 24-21 lead into the half.
“We wanted to go out there with a lot of energy, and that’s what we did. At times it was kind of chaotic. We really turned it around in the second quarter and I think that set the tone for the rest of the game,” Conlan said.
Live Oak capitalized on eight Sobrato turnovers in the quarter.
The Acorns had ball control problems of their own, giving it away 22 times on the night.
It hurt in the third quarter when Sobrato outscored the Acorns 14-9 for a 35-33 lead after three frames.
Live Oak had seven turnovers in the period.
Id-Deen made the turnovers pay when she scored four points in nearly as many seconds, scoring a short range jumper, then coming away with a steal and hitting a second jumper.
“We learned so much from it. Practice material comes automatically tomorrow,” Wallace said.
Both coaches gave credit to the fans for coming out and cheering on the squads. Wallace said she was extremely proud with how her girls kept their composure despite the ruckus nature of the evening.
“Coaching in something like this is hard enough, but playing, I don’t even know. I can’t imagine (what it was like),” Wallace said. “They handled the pressure and they didn’t just let the crowd take over like they could have.”
Live Oak must turn around quickly, playing 6 p.m. Saturday against Del Mar at home. Sobrato will get a few days to learn from the game, traveling to the Gunderson Tournament Wednesday.