WESTLAKE — Oaks Christian girls basketball coach Keani Albanez rarely shouted the same play call two times in a row during Thursday night’s game against St. Margaret’s.
The young Lions lost 65-49 and was able to execute but struggled to finish, especially on defense, as the group continues to gain experience.
“We’re still a young team and we are all coachable,” Lions senior Faith O’Daniel said. “That’s our biggest thing right now. We have a good team that we can keep building and we have all the pieces, we just need to put them together.”
O’Daniel scored a team-high 15 points in the game and is fully healthy this season after missing all of last year due to a foot injury. She fearlessly drove to the net for layups that kept the Lions (3-7) chugging along.
“I’m trying to be the leader that gets everyone involved,” O’Daniel said. “Be a facilitator and when there’s big moments, I’m stepping up and available.”
Oaks Christian struggled defensively down low and allowed St. Margaret’s (7-3) to take a 32-25 lead at halftime despite holding a brief 18-17 lead late in the first quarter.
Andrea Woodward, who scored 10 points, made the 3-pointer that gave the Lions that advantage. The Tartans chipped away at Oaks Christian in the paint and a turnover with two seconds left in the quarter gave St. Margaret’s control of the ball. Tilda Curran drove in for a layup and a 23-18 lead.
“The biggest thing is just staying disciplined,” O’Daniel said. “We have a game plan, we have a tactic, but executing those game plans is our biggest thing right now, especially on defense.”
St. Margaret’s extended its lead to 10 points in the second quarter as Oaks Christian dug deeper into its playbook to regain its footing.
“We do have a lot of different reads off of plays, so just being able to execute those reads, those small little wrinkles is our biggest thing right now,” O’Daniel said.
Oaks Christian struggled to put together a lengthy scoring run but made plays in key moments to keep its momentum alive. Presley Kushner added 12 points for the Lions and hit a corner 3-pointer to get her team within six points of tying the game after making a turnaround layup earlier in the third quarter.
The Lions next host St. Bonaventure on Saturday at 5 p.m. before heading to Santa Barbara for a tournament that will provide plenty of team bonding opportunities on and off the court.
“As a team, we’re finding our identity together and coming together as a team,” O’Daniel said. “Coming together as a team and really gelling is important for us and we still have time.”
