Any loss of focus by the Sierra High girls basketball team and Oakdale would have celebrated its first Valley Oak League win.

That wasn’t the case in the fourth quarter, as Sierra High held the Mustangs to a pair of free throws over the final eight minutes to preserve a 37-26 win Tuesday at home.

Sierra (3-6 VOL, 7-14 overall) showed early signs of looking past the VOL’s only winless team, trailing Oakdale after both the first and second quarters of play. Sierra, even after tying Oakdale early in the second half, never looked fully in stride until a spark from Kayla Wilson got the Timberwolves going late.

Wilson converted on back-to-back possessions to close the third, including racing the length of the court in 7.6 seconds for the second bucket as the horn sounded. Sierra would take that momentum into the fourth, opening the final frame with a 10-1 run.

“She shows a lot of poise,” Sierra head coach Steve Unterholzner said of his freshman Wilson. “She’s one of those players that is just even-keel and you need that in a game like this.”

The Timberwolves followed Wilson’s flurry with a defensive effort that decided the game.

Wilson’s buzzer-beater tied things at 24-24 and the Timberwolves would hold the Mustangs to just two points the rest of the way.

Rebounding helped propel Sierra; the Timberwolves owned a 36-29 advantage on the boards after trailing by five in the first half.

“We were able to pull out the difference on the boards and we really worked as a team late,” said Katelyn Teixeira, another freshman. “We also got some open looks and when we got up we were able to kill time off the clock.

“We finally found some good team chemistry.”

Celine Barber led Sierra with 13, while both Teixeira and Wilson had nine apiece.

Kylie Gust led the Mustangs (0-8, 3-17) with 12.

Sophomore

Oakdale 39, Sierra 34

The Timberwolves fell just short of coming back Tuesday. Haley Silva led Sierra with 13, while teammate Nour Hanza added seven points and a game-high 16 rebounds.

Freshmen

Sierra 38, Oakdale 24

Sierra (9-0, 19-2) remained perfect in league, getting 17 points from Trayana Davis. Brianna Padua also made her presence felt with five points.

Sierra will play host to Sonora Thursday.