Buena Girls Oust Thousand Oaks

Thousand Oaks High girls’ basketball Coach Chuck Brown was on the bench directing his team in its Southern Section 5-A Division quarterfinal game Thursday night. That might not sound unusual unless one considers that Brown was released from the hospital Tuesday after surgery to remove a blockage from an artery to the heart.

What’s more, Brown’s 91-year-old father, gravely ill, was admitted to the hospital before the game.

And if that wasn’t enough stress for one week, Brown had the Buena girls’ team to contend with. The Bulldogs made Brown’s bad week even worse as they rallied for a 59-50 victory at Thousand Oaks.

The win sends Buena into the semifinals; Thousand Oaks ended its season with a 23-5 record.

Buena (22-3), ranked third in the Southern Section, battled back from a 13-point deficit and outscored Thousand Oaks, 31-6, over a 10-minute span.

Thousand Oaks came out quickly, shooting 58% from the field in the first quarter. Buena hit a dismal 17% of its shots and the Lancers led, 15-6.

A Michelle Palmisano basket early in the second quarter put the Lancers ahead, 19-6, but then the teams reversed roles.

The Bulldogs took their first lead of the game since the opening score on a Jennifer Goodwin basket with 25 seconds left in the half and went into the intermission with a 24-23 lead.

Brown said that his team needed a more disciplined attack.

“We got too wild and killed ourselves throwing the ball around in the second quarter,” he said. “We’ve been like that all year but you can’t get away with that against a team like Buena.”

The Bulldogs’ balanced attack was led by sophomore Mia Palkie with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Joannie Weinerth added 13 points and Marci Ewin 12.

Forward Shani Smyth paced the Lancers with a game-high 25 points and Amy Chandler added 12. Debbie Bueche and Sue Kama each had 12 rebounds.