When the Oakville Senior High School girls’ basketball team opened the 2008-2009 season with a 3-7 record, many had written off the Tigers’ chances of capturing a district championship.

But a meeting a few weeks ago between the Oakville coaching staff and players led to a dramatic turnaround that included Friday night’s 36-32 victory over Cor Jesu Academy in the Class 5, District 7 championship game.

“We expected good things from this team early on in the season,” Oakville head coach Ron Thompson told the Call. “A few weeks back, had a team meeting and the girls really came together after that point.

“They’ve been 8-2 now over their last 10 games,” Thompson added.

Friday night’s win over Cor Jesu was a complete contrast to the Tigers’ loss to the Chargers Jan. 21 when Oakville suffered a 56-43 pounding.

“We got manhandled by them (Cor Jesu) the previous game,” Thompson said. “I think we surprised them a bit.”

Maggie Zehner led the Tigers with 13 points, three rebounds and three assists in the win. The senior point guard is leading Oakville with 14.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game this season.

“I’ve never seen someone improve so much over the course of a season,” Thompson said of Zehner. “She runs the team so well and she’s turned herself into one of the best point guards around the area.”

Oakville’s Andrea Boone also scored in double figures with 11 points, six rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot against the Chargers.

Boone is second on the team in points scored with an average of 8.9 points per game this season. She also leads the Tigers with 12 blocked shots this season.

“Since our meeting, Andrea’s improved a lot on offense,” Thompson said. “She’s been hitting the boards for us and has become real consistent on offense.”

The Tigers (15-13, 4-4 Suburban West Conference) were set to play at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday — after the Call went to press — against Fort Zumwalt West (23-4, 5-0 Gateway Athletic Conference) in sectional action at St. Louis Community College-Meramec, 11333 Big Bend Road.

The Jaguars are coming off a 50-46 win over Francis Howell Central to win the Class 5, District 8 Tournament.

Fort Zumwalt West also is on a hot streak of its own, winning eight of its last 10 games.

“Fort Zumwalt West is a big team with a couple of girls that can shoot the ball really well,” Thompson said.

“We’ll need to make sure that we keep them off the boards while also staying on their two girls that can shoot the ball.”