Atherton, CA- Menlo Women's Basketball returned to their home court of Haynes-Prim Pavilion to face the visiting Oregon Tech Owls. The game that ensued was a gritty, defensive, slugfest that was defined by tough defense, loose balls and charges. Unfortunately, as the final buzzer sounded, the Oaks found themselves trailing the visiting Owls by a final score of 66-77.
Defense Rules the Day
Menlo entered today's contest coming off an offensive explosion of 86 points against Pacific Union College. Eleven Oaks managed to score including four players hitting double digits. Unfortunately, this matchup would not have the same high octane offensive flair. While the Oaks still put together a solid overall field goal percentage shooting 46% from the floor as a team, it was their impact on defense that kept them close throughout the contest. They would force 25 turnovers and come away with 13 steals as a team. Jordyn Rosette continues to shine on the defensive end of the court with a game high five steals. She is up to 3.2 steals per game and looks to once again be in pursuit of a record setting number of takeaways.
Australian Duo Bring the Offense
While not the prettiest of offensive outings for the usually efficient Oaks, the duo of Jesni Cooper and Tia Morgan still put up buckets at a solid clip. Morgan led all Menlo scorers with 18 points and is now up to 13 points per game on the season. She got off to a slow start scoring only two points in the first quarter but quickly found her rhythm as the second quarter got underway. In just five second quarter minutes she added seven points, a rebound and an assist. Most importantly, she got her buckets on 3-3 shooting from the field including knocking down a three.
Jesni Cooper had missed some time due to injury but made her return to the court an impactful one. The junior out of Perth, Australia led the second unit with nine points while shooting 67% from the floor and added four free throws. It was great to see Cooper back on the court, attacking the rim and knocking down shots after a few games out of action. The scoring punch she adds is going to be critical as the season wears on.
Up Next…
With Thanksgiving right around the corner the team will enjoy some days off of game action for the holidays. As the end of the month rolls around they will be back in action on November 28th for a quick road trip to San Rafael for a rematch with Dominican University. The Penguins made the trip down to Atherton earlier in the season in which the Oaks pulled out the 71-62 victory. Kiara Brown led the Oaks with a 17 point, 11 rebound double-double while Alberte Frisch chipped in 13 points as well.
