Despite having three players scoring in double figures, the Oakville Senior High girls’ basketball team dropped a 46-43 decision to Fort Zumwalt West in the Class 5 sectional last week at St. Louis Community CollegeMeramec.
The Tigers (15-14, 4-4 Suburban West Conference) found themselves down 13-9 after just one quarter on March 4. But Oakville quickly bounced back in the second quarter to tie the game at 19-19 by halftime.
“As soon as we started rebounding as a group, we knew that we could handle them (Fort Zumwalt West) defensively,” Oakville head coach Ron Thompson said. “I was very proud of how the girls played.”
Oakville took a 28-27 lead after three quarters, but the Jaguars began to use their height advantage in the fourth quarter as Zumwalt West (24-5, 5-0 Gateway Athletic Conference) ended up out-rebounding Oakville 35-25.
“They were looking as tired as we were, but their size helped them down the stretch,” Thompson said. “Obviously, though, I thought our girls played a very good game.”
Andrea Boone led the Tigers with a total of 16 points and five rebounds. The senior guard also had one assist as she finished her career at Oakville with per-game averages this season of 9.1 points and a 3.5 re-bounds. Boone led the Tigers with a total of 92 field goals and 31 three-point shots plus 12 blocked shots.
“Over the last few weeks, Andrea really got her legs,” Thompson said. “I think that’s one of the reasons why her scoring went up over the last few weeks.”
Oakville’s Maggie Zehner also scored in double figures with 12 points and four rebounds. The senior guard recorded three steals and two assists in the loss to Fort Zumwalt West.
Zehner finished her career at Oakville with a team-leading per-game average of 14 points and 4.8 rebounds. She also led Oakville with 75 assists and 79 steals.
“Maggie is part of a group of girls who didn’t want their season to end,” Thompson said. “From the start of the season, she went from a really good scorer to a good scorer and defender.”
Sophomore Leslie DeGonia rounded out the trio of Tigers to score in double figures as she racked up 11 points, five rebounds, three steals and one assist.
“We’re really excited to have Leslie back for next season,” Thompson said. “She’s going to be one of the returning leaders for us next year.”
Fort Zumwalt West’s Anna Hackman led the Jaguars with a total of 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Besides Boone and Zehner, the Tigers will lose to graduation the services of seniors Kelly Gallagher, Danielle Kinder and Rachel Walther.
“We’re going to lose a lot of experience, but I’m very excited about next season,” Thompson said. “We’ve got a good group returning and some good players coming up from the JV team.”
