OAKLAND, Calif. – The Oakland Tech Bulldogs put on a defensive showcase worthy of center stage in a 70-45 throttling of San Ramon Valley on Tuesday night before a raucous home crowd. Erin Sellers scored all 17 of her points in the second half, Taliyah Logwood chipped in 14 points along with six rebounds, and freshman Jhai Johnson added 11 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks for Oakland Tech (10-3).
It was Sellers and Logwood in particular who led a third qurater charge which turned a modest 26-22 halftime lead into a 46-34 advantage to begin the fourth. The aforementioned trio also wreaked havoc in the final period to pull away completely. Sophia Askew-Goncalves had an impressive first quarter en route to a 10-point, eight-rebound performance.
“Best game of the year,” Oakland Tech coach Leroy Hurt said. “Most complete game. We want to be with the big dogs, we asked to be with them, now we gotta go perform. That’s a good team and to take them apart like that, speaks volumes for us.”
San Ramon Valley (10-3) relied on point guard Sierra Chambers, who made a living at the line and finished with 18 points. Anneka Lupinek (14 points with four three-pointers) and Sofia Bowes (nine points, five boards) and also contributed, but the Wolves, who led 16-15 after one, hit just six field goals in the second through fourth quarter combined. That was compared to seven in the opening frame.
Oakland Tech’s defense consistently turned into offense throughout Tuesday’s game. During a critical 10-0 run early in the third, Logwood followed a Sellers three with a steal and three-point play; Sellers then came up with a steal of her own and fed Logwood for a layup. Sellers closed the quarter with a three followed by a steal and coast-to-coast drive. Oakland Tech had at least 14 steals and three blocks for the game.
“Our defense kind of opened up the game,” Sellers remarked. We started getting more aggressive and having more energy defense-wise, and the offense came to us. Our goal was to not let them get as many outside shots as they normally would.”
The Wolves closed to within seven with 5:43 to go in the game, but the Bulldogs’ senior point guard Sellers had yet another answer. She knocked down another shot from beyond the arc on an assist from Mari Somvichian, then returned the favor by feeding Somvichian for a second long-distance strike.
For Oakland Tech, it was a bit of revenge, as San Ramon Valley drubbed the Bulldogs by a very similar score, 84-58, last year in Danville. In that season, Oakland Tech lost several games against top-flight teams but went on to win the CIF Division III State Championship, while San Ramon Valley had to battle in the Open Division and lost in the first round to Mitty.
Hurt acknowledged that there was still room for improvement even in this game and wants to continue to beat the kind of teams that downed them last season.
“We just want to win so we can get back to that state title, that’s it,” Sellers responded when asked about the team’s goals the rest of the way.
