Girls’ Basketball: Rough opener for Warriors
HUNTINGTON BEACH — It seems the rumors are true.
Oxford Academy’s girls’ basketball team entered Tuesday night highly regarded as the favorite to repeat as Academy League champions this season.
Austyn Masuno scored 24 points to lead a quartet of double-digit scorers, and the Patriots sped past Brethren Christian, 87-16, in the teams’ league opener at Liberty Christian High.
The 6-foot-2 sophomore center filled out her line with eight rebounds, six assists, and two steals.
Oxford Academy (9-3, 1-0) displayed its athleticism early on. For most of the first half, Brethren Christian (3-8, 0-1) was not being offered passage across the halfcourt stripe.
Suffocating defense led to instant offense for the Patriots, who had 22 points off of turnovers in the first quarter alone.
The Patriots overwhelmed Brethren Christian with their full-court pressure. It resulted in 30 steals and 21 assists on 40 made baskets as Oxford Academy thrived on the fastbreak.
“I think our press was [effective] because we could see that they didn’t have very good ball handling,” Masuno said. “That’s where we got a lot of our points in the beginning.”
Sophia Chan poured in 18 points to go with eight steals and seven assists. Jocelyn Lopez added 16 points with eight rebounds and five steals. Angie Bayarmunkh chipped in with 15 points, including the Patriots’ two 3-pointers.
It was 52-4 at halftime, and Brethren Christian was forced to take a long look into the proverbial mirror.
If the Warriors didn’t like what they saw, they did what they had to in order to improve in the second half. They hustled up court, and their decisions came quicker.
An offense that was more decisive got more attempts toward the rim, and Gabby Pacada was able to capitalize on some open shots with a 10-point third quarter.
She made two shots from behind the arc in the period, adding three steals.
“What I’m most proud of for Gabby, when she did shoot the ball, hit or miss, she came back and hustled,” Warriors coach Fidel Vargas said. “She played better defense in the second half.”
Jessica Holloway grabbed six rebounds, and Britney Cuevas added three steals and two assists for the Warriors.
“Come the second half, they did a lot better,” Vargas added of his team. “They were able to adjust. They played with more confidence.”
Oxford Academy swept the Academy League at 12-0 last year. Sage Hill went 10-2 to finish second.
Both teams elevated the competition that they faced during their nonleague schedules. Lightning coach Kerwin Walters has been consistent in stating that putting his team in tougher tournaments is part of the plan to be ready when those league rivals cross paths.
The teams will square off in the first of their two meetings on Jan. 12 at Sage Hill.
“We want to go into Sage with a positive attitude,” Patriots coach David Clifton said. “We don’t want to go in there like we have to prove something. We want them to know that we’re still the team to beat.”
“We were 12-0 last year, and that’s the goal for this year.”
Coming into Tuesday night, the teams were sporting similar numbers. Oxford Academy was averaging 47.4 points per game to Sage Hill’s 42.2 points. The Patriots hold a slight edge in steals, too, 14.2 to 12.5.
Academy League
Oxford Academy 87, Brethren Christian 16
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Oxford Academy – 31 - 21 - 22 - 13 – 87
Brethren Christian – 2 - 2 - 12 - 0 – 16
OA – Masuno 24, Chan 18, Lopez 16, Bayarmunkh 15, Madrazo 4, Rodriguez 4, Graver 4, Parez 2.
3-pt. goals – Bayarmunkh 2.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
BC – Pacada 12, McKinna 3, Holloway 1.
3-pt. goals – Pacada 2.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
