Throughout the season, a high school girls’ basketball team has a handful of games that will challenge and prepare it for the district tournament.
One of those tests will come at 7 p.m. Tuesday when Oakville (9-11, 4-3 Suburban West) travels to Hazelwood Central (13-2, 4-0 Suburban North) for a matchup with the Hawks, who are ranked eighth in Class 5.
“Hazelwood Central is definitely a team that we need a week to prepare for,” Oakville head coach Ron Thompson told the Call. “This is going to be one of those games where Hazelwood Central is going to be as good — if not better — than anyone in our district.”
The Tigers last week posted back-to-back wins over Northwest and Mehlville.
But Oakville has had its ups and downs throughout the season.
“It’s been a little bit of a struggle,” Thompson said. “We have a challenging schedule, but we’re getting better as the year goes on. That’s what we want at this time of the year.”
The Tigers pounded Mehlville 51-31 Friday night at home in a key conference and district win for Oakville.
“Mehlville is always a game that’s easy to get both sides up for,” Thompson said. “Defensively, we made Mehlville miss a lot of shots and kept them off the offensive boards.”
Leslie DeGonia and Maggie Zehner each scored 10 points for the Tigers as DeGonia also recorded four rebounds, two steals and one assist. DeGonia is averaging 7.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
“Leslie played really well for us early,” Thompson said. “When we’re making open shots and our free throws, I think that we can play with anybody.”
Zehner added on to her 10-point showing with five rebounds, three steals and one turnover.
“As our point guard, she really got our other guards involved into the game,” Thompson said. “She had a really nice game considering the fact that she left after playing just three quarters.”