Oxford Academy took on Crean Lutheran on Jan. 27 at the Crean campus in Irvine.
The game went down to a failed last second shot and Oxford came out on top with a 47-44 victory over the Saints.
Oxford held a half game lead over the Saints going into the game and the victory could play a major factor in determining the 2017 Academy League champion.
The win takes the Lady Patriots’ record to 14-5 overall and 6-1 in league with five games remaining.
Oxford Academy took on Crean Lutheran on Jan. 27 at the Crean campus in Irvine.
The game went down to a failed last second shot and Oxford came out on top with a 47-44 victory over the Saints.
Oxford held a half game lead over the Saints going into the game and the victory could play a major factor in determining the 2017 Academy League champion.
The win takes the Lady Patriots’ record to 14-5 overall and 6-1 in league with five games remaining.
Crean Lutheran drops to 12-9 overall and 5-3 in league where they are in a three way tie for 2nd place with Sage Hill and Calvary Chapel Downey.
Since the start, the Lady Patriots dominated the Saints and ended the first quarter with a 17-6 lead.
Crean had no answer for the Oxford frontcourt as forward Jocelyn Lopez and center Austyn Masuno each scored 6 points in the quarter.
In the second quarter, Oxford stretch the lead to 28-8 with 5 minutes remaining in the half.
However, the Saints decided to rise up and went on an 11-0 run cutting the Lady Patriot lead to 9.
Mylee Madrazo stopped the bleeding for Oxford with a runner down the lane right before the half to give Oxford a commanding 30-19 lead.
In the second half, the game became very tight as Crean outscored the Lady Patriots 8-6 in the third quarter closing the lead to 36-27 with all 8 points for the Saints coming from Erin O’Malley, who finished the game with 22 points.
In the fourth, Crean continued to chip away at the lead and eventually closed the lead to 45-44 in the final minute.
But center Austyn Masuno made two free throws with nine seconds left and Crean’s desperation shot at the buzzer fell short and the Lady Patriots walked away with a 47-44 victory.
Oxford top performers were Austyn Masuno who finished the game with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 5 block shots while Jocelyn Lopez had 9 points and 8 rebounds.
Mylee Madrazo added 9 points and Sophia Chan contributed 6 points and 5 assists.
Oxford has two big games at home this coming week and victories would almost certainly result in the Lady Patriots clinching the league championship.
On Tuesday, the Lady Patriots took on Calvary Chapel Downey who handed Oxford their only league defeat of the year earlier in the season.
Then on Thursday, Oxford meets up with Sage Hill who they edged 41-40 in the team first match up of 2017.
Oxford will conclude the season with games versus St. Margaret’s, Whitney, and Brethren Christian.
