CAMARILLO — The Oak Park girls basketball team has only six healthy players, but that didn’t stop the Eagles from taking home their third straight undefeated Coastal Canyon League title.
Oak Park held it down on defense to beat Camarillo, 51-41, at Camarillo High School on Monday night.
Oak Park players celebrate after beating Camarillo, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Oak Park’s Maya Deshautelle drives to the basket between Camarillo’s Emerson Martin, left, and Devyn Hurt, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Oak Park’s Ava Rogerson shoots against Camarillo’s Devyn Hurt, left, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Camarillo’s Christa Contreras, left, and Oak Park’s Joely Chadwick battle for a rebound, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Oak Park’s Maya Deshautelle (15) pressures Camarillo’s Emerson Martin, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Oak Park’s Maya Deshautelle drives to the basket against Camarillo, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Oak Park’s Maya Deshautelle shoots against against Camarillo, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Oak Park’s Ava Rogerson dives for a loose ball against Camarillo, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Oak Park’s Delaney White shoots against Camarillo, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Oak Park’s Delaney White drives around Camarillo’s Daniela Rocha Betancourt, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Oak Park head coach William Burr talks with his players during their game against Camarillo, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Camarillo’s Liz Rocha (25) and Oak Park’s Ava Rogerson wrestle for the ball, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Oak Park’s Delaney White, left, goes for a rebound against Camarillo’s Christa Contreras and Mya Rei Smith, right, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Oak Park’s Ava Rogerson shoots between Camarillo’s Devyn Hurt, left, and Christa Contreras, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Oak Park head coach William Burr directs his players during their game against Camarillo, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Oak Park’s Maya Deshautelle (15) shoots against Camarillo’s Emerson Martin, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Oak Park’s Maya Deshautelle is fouled by Camarillo’s Christa Contreras, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Oak Park’s Maya Deshautelle shoots technical foul shots late in the game against Camarillo, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Oak Park’s Natasha Bommareddy (24) battles for a rebound with Camarillo’s Christa Contreras, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
Camarillo head coach Matthew Ramirez speaks with officials during their game against Oak Park, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
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Oak Park players celebrate after beating Camarillo, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at Camarillo High School. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker, contributing photographer)
“Nothing’s going to get in the way of (our goals) and this team is incredible,” Oak Park guard Maya DeShautelle said. “That culture coming in and being consistent throughout years and years is what helps us go through and keep winning.”
DeShautelle, a sophomore, finished the game with 21 points and freshman Ava Rogerson added nine points. Liz Rocha led Camarillo with 14 points and hit four 3-pointers.
“She brings an offensive and defensive presence to where you have to know where she is on the court,” Oak Park head coach William Burr said of DeShautelle. “Her rebounding, her ability to shoot the basketball, her ability to get to the basket to finish. She’s disruptive on defense.”
The Scorpions (18-9 overall, 6-2 Coastal Canyon League) tied the game 10-10 at the start of the second quarter but the Eagles (16-3, 7-1) put together a 7-0 run to maintain their advantage. The defense continued to play physically while the offense created more effective scoring opportunities, especially from beyond the arc.
Neither team could find the net — aside from two Oak Park free throws — for nearly half of the opening frame. Joely Chadwick finally broke through on a second-chance layup with 3:27 left on the clock.
The Eagles were the superior defensive team when it came to defensive rebounds, blocks and steals, which helped generate offense and keep the momentum in their favor.
Having six players on the team after losing captain Ella Broms to an ACL injury, helps the Eagles turn up the defensive intensity at practices to prepare for the urgency of games like the one Monday.
“We have to work with what we’ve got,” DeShautelle said. “It definitely helps with discipline with never being able to sub usually. It really helps with our conditioning and just being together as a team.”
Emerson Martin made a buzzer-beating 3-pointer as the first quarter came to a close, prompting Oak Park to lock in and create its pivotal scoring run.
“We were mainly just trying to extend and feed whoever was hot,” DeShautelle said. “Ball movement, ball movement, ball movement and just let it flow from our defense and try to gain energy.”
The two teams traded 3-point shots in the third quarter as well until Christa Contreras’ layup brought the score to 31-28 at the end of the quarter. It also appeared to unsettle the Eagles, who had to recollect themselves before the final frame.
Camarillo switched to a press in the last two minutes of the game but DeShautelle hit a three for a 49-36 lead that the Scorpions couldn’t overcome.
Oak Park won CIF Southern Section titles in 2023 and 2024, and Burr sees similarities in this season’s team compared to those championship groups.
“The majority of the team has returned,” he said, “so they’ve been there before and they know what it takes, they know what it’s about.”
Brackets for the CIF Southern Section playoffs will be released Saturday.
