Oakland, CA:

The Lady Oaks defined resiliency tonight.  They defined it when they faced a ten point deficit in the latter stages of the second half.  They defined it when they trailed by five inside of two minutes.  And they even defined it in overtime after having a chance to win it in regulation.  In front of a hostile Holy Names crowd, the Lady Oaks won an unbelievable 80-76 overtime thriller to knock off the Hawks for the first time in five years. 

Three simple words can depict tonight's heated affair, "We kept fighting."  Those were the words of Menlo Head Coach Shannon Osborne who was elated after the performance by her team.  "We kept making shots, we kept playing defense and we knew that at some point the tide would turn.  To come away with a win here in OT is simply amazing," claimed Osborne. 

Menlo fought hard late in the second half to erase a double digit deficit.  Strong play by Lauren Adamek and Laurel Donnenwirth helped bring the Oaks within four at 58-54 with under three minutes to go in the game.  Moments later Menlo's Erika Garcia hit one of the biggest shots of the night with a step back three from the wing to make it a one point game, 58-57 with 2:40 to go. 

Menlo would go on to tie the game at 58 with an Adamek free throw before HNU put together a run of their own.  Five points within the span of 15 seconds, thanks to a Brittany Potestio three and a Renique Fitzpatrick layup gave the Hawks a five point lead with only 1:50 remaining.

It was once again time for some more of that Lady Oaks resiliency.  The aforementioned Lauren Adamek hit two clutch free throws to make it a 63-60 game with 1:40 left.  After a Menlo defensive stand gave them the ball back, junior Jenna Marinaro nailed one from deep to knot the score at 63 with just 1:10 to go.

After two HNU misses, the Lady Oaks grabbed the lead with a second chance effort by Erika Garcia that resulted in a bucket and a 65-63 Menlo advantage with only 34 seconds left.  In the Hawks final attempt to send the game into overtime, Soulijah Evans picked up her own miss before sinking in the game tying score with just 18 seconds left.  Evans was fouled on the play but was unable to hit the ensuing free throw which kept the score tied at 65. 

In the waning moments of regulation, the Oaks Jolise Limcaco drove through the lane and got hacked to go to the free throw line with a chance to win the game with only 3.6 seconds to go.  Limcaco could not convert however, missing on both attempts, and after a Laurel Donnenwirth block on the Hawks lost shot attempt of regulation, the game went into overtime. 

Although Limcaco was unable to ice the game in regulation, credit her with the way she played in the extra frame.  The freshman guard was the difference in OT with seven points in the final five to give Menlo the unbelievable four point "W."  In fact Limcaco was able to knock down two clutch free throws with just 2.5 seconds left to turn a two point lead into the eventual four point victory.  The native of Sacramento finished with 14 points and a game high eight assists. 

Along with Limcaco's 14, fellow freshmen Laurel Donnenwirth picked up her second straight double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.  Senior Erika Garcia, who played a key role in the Oaks' sterling comeback, ended her evening with a game high 21.  After the game Garcia credited her entire team for their ability to bounce back even when things looked grim. 

"We never gave up, we just kept fighting," commented the senior guard from Garden Grove.  "Our confidence tonight was outstanding." 

With the win Menlo moves to 4-1 in conference and takes sole possession of second place in the Cal Pac.  The Lady Oaks will try to make it two straight with a trip to Simpson this Saturday, January 28^th.  Action is set to get underway at 5:00pm.