Oak Park girls basketball beats Camarillo for third straight undefeated league title

CAMARILLO — The Oak Park girls basketball team has only six healthy players, but that didn’t stop the Eagles from taking home their third straight undefeated Coastal Canyon League title.

Oak Park held it down on defense to beat Camarillo, 51-41, at Camarillo High School on Monday night.

Oak Park players celebrate after beating Camarillo, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)

1 of 20

Oak Park players celebrate after beating Camarillo, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)

Swanson: From Kobe Bryant’s death to wildfires, LA unites in times of crisis

Expand

“Nothing’s going to get in the way of (our goals) and this team is incredible,” Oak Park guard Maya DeShautelle said. “That culture coming in and being consistent throughout years and years is what helps us go through and keep winning.”

DeShautelle, a sophomore, finished the game with 21 points and freshman Ava Rogerson added nine points. Liz Rocha led Camarillo with 14 points and hit four 3-pointers.

“She brings an offensive and defensive presence to where you have to know where she is on the court,” Oak Park head coach William Burr said of DeShautelle. “Her rebounding, her ability to shoot the basketball, her ability to get to the basket to finish. She’s disruptive on defense.”

The Scorpions (18-9 overall, 6-2 Coastal Canyon League) tied the game 10-10 at the start of the second quarter but the Eagles (16-3, 7-1) put together a 7-0 run to maintain their advantage. The defense continued to play physically while the offense created more effective scoring opportunities, especially from beyond the arc.

Neither team could find the net — aside from two Oak Park free throws — for nearly half of the opening frame. Joely Chadwick finally broke through on a second-chance layup with 3:27 left on the clock.

The Eagles were the superior defensive team when it came to defensive rebounds, blocks and steals, which helped generate offense and keep the momentum in their favor.

Having six players on the team after losing captain Ella Broms to an ACL injury, helps the Eagles turn up the defensive intensity at practices to prepare for the urgency of games like the one Monday.

Santa Anita horse racing consensus picks for Monday, January 20, 2025

“We have to work with what we’ve got,” DeShautelle said. “It definitely helps with discipline with never being able to sub usually. It really helps with our conditioning and just being together as a team.”

Emerson Martin made a buzzer-beating 3-pointer as the first quarter came to a close, prompting Oak Park to lock in and create its pivotal scoring run.

“We were mainly just trying to extend and feed whoever was hot,” DeShautelle said. “Ball movement, ball movement, ball movement and just let it flow from our defense and try to gain energy.”

The two teams traded 3-point shots in the third quarter as well until Christa Contreras’ layup brought the score to 31-28 at the end of the quarter. It also appeared to unsettle the Eagles, who had to recollect themselves before the final frame.

Camarillo switched to a press in the last two minutes of the game but DeShautelle hit a three for a 49-36 lead that the Scorpions couldn’t overcome.

Oak Park won CIF Southern Section titles in 2023 and 2024, and Burr sees similarities in this season’s team compared to those championship groups.

California Native American tribes sue cardrooms for running alleged illegal games

“The majority of the team has returned,” he said, “so they’ve been there before and they know what it takes, they know what it’s about.”

Brackets for the CIF Southern Section playoffs will be released Saturday.

(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)

Related Posts

Angel City FC players take part in Harvard-Westlake vs. Chaminade girls soccer showdown

Saquon Barkley, Eagles kick off madness of Super Bowl opening night

California’s loss of political influence will prove to be a benefit to the rest of the nation

Leave a Reply Cancel reply