On Feb. 23, the varsity girls’ basketball team played the Northview High School Vikings at Azusa Pacific University in the final game of the CIF Southern Section. While the girls lost the game, they advanced to State.

The game against Northview was part of the 2019 CIF Southern Section — Ford Girls Basketball Playoffs — Division 4AA Tournament. Head coach Doris Park was excited and proud of the team when she found out they were to compete in the tournament.

“I think the girls really began to compete in practices,” Park wrote to the Talon. “They realized that iron sharpens iron and they have to push each other to be the best they can be.”

At the inception of the game, Northview obtained a three-point lead over Oak Park, after which the Eagles scored two points as well. Quarter one ended with 11 points to Northview and 5 points to Oak Park.

“I definitely felt confident going into the game. I have had a rough couple of games in playoffs and really wanted to contribute for my team — whether that be simply cheering or coming in and having productive minutes,” senior Kailani Johansson, #00, wrote to the Talon. “I do feel as though I was able to achieve that in this game and [I] contributed with my time.”

The Eagles began to pull ahead toward the end of the second quarter, with team members scoring multiple two and three-pointers over Northview’s defense. Quarter two ended with 19 points to the Vikings and 23 points to the Eagles.

Oak Park pressed through parts of quarter three, aided by their lead, though at one point the two teams were tied for points. Quarter three ended with 35 points to Northview and 37 points to Oak Park, the Eagles having maintained a slim lead against the Vikings.

In the fourth quarter the teams tied once again, with both the Eagles and the Vikings pulling ahead at different times. The game ended with 47 points to Northview and 43 points to Oak Park, determined by a couple of free throws scored by Northview toward the end of the game.

“Obviously it sucks that we didn’t win, but I am so proud of my team for coming this far,” Johansson wrote. “We really did work hard last night, but at the end of the day we didn’t have our best game.”

Park believes that the team did well with “attacking the basket and hustling.” She also explained that the team could work on “not going away from what is working and pushing the ball up the court from start to finish.”

“We are definitely losing some key pieces next year, but I have no doubt some returners will step up to fill that void. I think if we keep our same focus in the offseason we will be right back here again next season,” Park wrote.

Even with the loss, the team advanced to State and played Arleta High School from Van Nuys at OPHS on Tuesday, Feb. 26. The Eagles earned a win of 76 points over the Mustangs, who ended with 53. Before the game, an anonymous donor paid for tickets for the first 100 students to attend the game.

“After the win, I’m feeling very confident about our achievements,” sophomore Hailey Jones, #24, wrote to the Talon. “I think we had some rough patches but we didn’t get out of our heads and kept going.”

The team will now advance to their second State game on Thursday, at OPHS, at 6:00 p.m. against the Tehachapi High School Warriors. The Eagles are driven by the desire to play Northview again, according to Park.

“I think they are more than capable of making it to that game and getting the win to advance them to the State Championship!” Park wrote. “We just have to take it one game at a time and remember to rest our bodies and keep our focus through this week and next!”