By STEPHEN GLOVER

For the Call

With nine games under its belt in the 2004-2005 season, the Oakville Senior High girls’ basketball team is one game above .500, a positive mark to head coach Paul Har-rington.

“In the first eight games of the season, we’ve played some tough teams,” Harrington told the Call. “We wanted to go into the break above .500 and we were able to do that.”

The Tigers (5-4, 0-2 Suburban West) grabbed their fifth win of the season with a 56-26 thumping of Parkway North last Tuesday. Oakville’s win on the road ended a two-game losing streak. The Tiger’s have won three of their last five games.

Oakville jumped out to a commanding 14-8 lead in the first quarter of action and held a 24-12 advantage at halftime. Harrington then decided to go from the team’s full-court press defense to a half-court defense, which gave the Vikings more looks at the basket.

“We full-court pressed them in the first half and they were not able to handle that,” Harrington said. “Being able to do that (full-court press defense) is really key for us. But Parkway North has a good bunch of kids and we only hope that someday later on down the road that someone gives us the same respect.”

The Tigers were led by Sherry Zehner’s 12 points and four rebounds. The junior center has been averaging 12.7 points and four rebounds a game this season.

“It seems like Faith (Zabek) and Sherry take turns as to who has the big game,” Harrington said. “As long as either one has success, they’re both happy.”

Zabek finished the evening with eight points, four rebounds, two steals and one assist for the Tigers. The junior forward has been averaging 12 points a game, while grabbing a team-leading 4.8 rebounds per game.

Junior guard Megan Reel also scored eight points and grabbed two rebounds in the Tigers’ win over Parkway North.

Reel also had one steal and three assists to complement her team-leading 26 assists this season.

“There’s been three or four games where she (Reel) has really stepped it up,” Har-rington said. “The assists are what really makes us click.”

The Tigers play host to Ladue at 7 p.m. Tuesday in a non-conference meeting.

The Rams are 6-1 with their lone loss of the season coming from a 54-31 defeat at Clayton. Ladue is led by junior center Laura Turner, who is averaging 14.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per game this season.

“We know that they (Ladue) are a good and solid team,” Harrington said. “I was hoping to catch a chance to see them in the third or fourth round of their tournament. They’re pretty balanced in their scoring, but you never can tell by just looking at their stat sheets.”