Simply stated, last week was rough for the Oakville Senior High School girls’ basketball team.

The Tigers dropped a 43-42 decision to Farmington Jan. 9 and a 51-44 loss to Kirkwood Friday night.

“We played two of the tougher teams we’ve played all year,” Oakville head coach Ron Thompson told the Call. “Defensively, I think we played two of our best games of the year.”

Oakville (7-4, 1-1 Suburban West) fell behind 13-0 in the first quarter to Kirk-wood before rallying in the final minutes to bring the score to 13-5.

“We were down 13-0 to start the game,” Thompson said. “We had some younger girls starting, and I think we were a little overwhelmed.”

Kirkwood extended its lead to 29-18 at halftime and 41-27 after three quarters. The Tigers came back in the fourth quarter with a 17-10 run, but it clearly was not enough to overcome the Pioneers’ 14-point lead.

Andrea Boone led the Tigers with 16 points and two rebounds. The sophomore guard also racked up two steals and one assist in the loss to Kirkwood.

“In the second half, we switched her over to guard (Shania) Hurst,” Thompson said. “I think that Andrea probably played her strongest game of all season.”

Oakville’s Emma Kriegel and Julie Brown each scored eight points. Kriegel led Oakville with six rebounds. The senior forward is averaging 4.9 points and 4.5 rebounds a game this season.

‘I thought that Emma played a good game,” Thompson said. “She guarded (Devonna) Smith who’s been averaging about 15 points a game and kept her to just four points.”

Brown also had a solid evening with three assists, two steals and two rebounds.

The sophomore guard is averaging 3.7 points a game this season.

Julie’s been pretty steady for us,” Thompson said. “After those first five or six minutes of the game, I think she got a little more confident out there.”

The Tigers are back on the hardwood at 7 p.m. today — Jan. 18 — when they play host to Mehlville in a key Suburban West Conference game for both schools. Mehlville (9-4, 2-2 Suburban West) and Oakville are in the middle of the pack of the conference standings, which means that a win for either squad will move them into the upper echelon of the league.

“We’ve struggled the last couple of years against Mehlville, so it’s a huge game for us,” Thompson said. “It’s important for us to stay in the top two or three in the conference standings.”