On its lowest-scoring night of the season, defense powers Oakland Tech to CIF State title win over La Salle
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Oakland Tech came into Friday's CIF Division III girls basketball state championship bout with La Salle averaging over 60 points per game.
But two minutes into the second quarter against La Salle, the Bulldogs had only scored five points. While the lid came off the basket as the second quarter wound down, they still only finished the game with 39 points – their fewest of the season.
It didn't matter.
Oakland Tech held its opponent to its lowest scoring night of the season as well in defeating the Lancers 39-33.
"I hate to say it, but we played a bad game. This was the worst we played the whole tournament," said Oakland Tech head coach Leroy Hurt.
"But defensively we were fantastic. [La Salle was] 13-39, 0-6 from three-point land, and we had 10 steals. We could've played even better defensively, but we were incredible defensively."
The Bulldogs trailed 11-5 after one quarter and 19-16 at halftime before taking a 26-25 lead with 47.8 seconds left in the third quarter - their first lead since the opening minutes of the game.
Oakland Tech's full-court trapping and improved help rotations in the half-court had La Salle stifled. It looked like the Bulldogs were preparing to run away with the game after taking their first lead, but the Lancers didn't cave. With half a minute left in the game, the Bulldogs only led by one point.
Then in a dramatic flurry, Mari Somvichian knocked down a three with 17 seconds left, and Taliyah Logwood stole the ball from La Salle. As Logwood found Erin Sellers for a layup to put them up 39-33, the clock expired.
Despite entering the state Division III playoffs as one of the favorites, it wasn't an easy road for Oakland Tech, which faced a handful of tough opponents.
"There's a lot of people who said we should've won, that we were going to win D3," said Hurt. "But to actually go and do it is a lot tougher than it sounds."
Sellers led the Bulldogs with 11 points, and Sophia Askew-Goncalves finished with eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Both players had two blocks as well.
La Salle was tasked with not only taking down a powerhouse, but doing it after losing a key player just before tip-off. Ellie Chen reportedly got injured during warmups, and the Lancers were without a productive starter whose ball-handling could've helped when they struggled with Oakland Tech's press in the second half.
Audrey Chen had game-highs of 13 points and four assists for La Salle, plus eight rebounds and three steals. Ryann Riddle had 10 points and eight rebounds for the Lancers.
"Its been a long year. I don't think there's another team out there that's been through what we've been through," Hurt said. "COVID testing daily, twice a week, this kid out, that kid out ... to win it all is incredibly satisfying for myself and the kids, but I know they'll tell you we've been through a lot. And we pushed through."
PHOTO GALLERY
(All photos by Dennis Lee)
