It was a gritty, down to the wire effort by Menlo Women's Basketball on the first leg of their Southern California trip. Unfortunately, the Oaks were unable to avenger their earlier loss this season falling to the 13th ranked Lions in overtime. Regardless, coach Spataro's squad showed an incredible amount of toughness. After only scoring four points in the first quarter and falling behind by as much as 20 points, the Oaks battled back to force overtime. 

By the fourth quarter the tables had completely turned with Menlo outscoring the Lions 23-8 in the final frame of regulation. Kiara Brown, who started the game uncharacteristically slow, managed to single handedly outscore Vanguard with 13 points. Yet, foul trouble and fatigue plagued Menlo in overtime. Three players would foul out and Brown would play a season high 44 minutes. 

Despite the slow shooting start, the Oaks would go on to shoot a solid 36% from three as a team. Both Hunter Boske and Vivian Woo knocked down three triples apiece. Jordyn Rosette continues to establish herself as one of the premier defensive forces in the conference. Before fouling out she managed three blocks, seven rebounds and held the reigning conference player of the week, Melissa Akullu to 14 points. Akullu had averaged 36 points across her last two outings. 

Even after falling behind early this Menlo squad showed off their intangibles and mental toughness. They fought their way back into the game thanks to crashing the glass, defending and hitting big shots in big moments. The Oaks may have lost, ending their nine game winning streak, but there are plenty of positives to point to. Grabbing 17 offensive rebounds, forcing 17 turnovers and refusing to give up will all prove to be positive talking points regardless of the disappointing outcome.

The Oaks are back on the court this Saturday, January 28th, taking on Life Pacific. Use the link below to stream some Menlo hoops while enjoying the weekend!

https://www.gsacsportsnetwork.com/menlo/?B=450427