Girls’ basketball: Brooks, Escoto carry Oaks Christian past Fillmore

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When I heard leading scorer Chelsea Carlisle would miss Thursday’s showdown with Fillmore because she was sick, I was convinced things were looking pretty miserable for Oaks Christian.

This was a must-win game if the Lions wanted to keep their Tri-Valley League title hopes out of the casket, and I feared another loss after their misfire against St. Bonaventure would drop the Lions into a talespin.

But, apparently, I forgot about how good Katie Brooks and Christine Escoto can be. Thanks to an 18-point effort by Brooks and 17 points by Escoto, Oaks Christian emerged from the orange groves with a 52-50 victory over the first-place Flashes (say that five times fast).

Brooks and Escoto have played critical supporting roles for the Lions this season, even though they’ve been overshadowed by the point-producing brilliance of Carlisle. Brooks is averaging a healthy 12 ppg and 10.6 rpg and Escoto is averaging a decent 9.6 ppg. Escoto also has a knack for coming up clutch in the important games. She scored a season-high 20 against Fillmore on Jan. 15 and also hit double digits in some big, nonleague tournament games.

Now, the Lions have to beat Oak Park (probably) and Santa Clara (most likely) and hope St. Bonaventure pulls off a victory over Fillmore on Saturday if they want to earn at least a share of the league title. If that happens, the Tri-Valley League likely will live up to its name since it’ll have three co-champions. Wow! Just like football.

-- Austin Knoblauch