The Varsity Girls Basketball team moved up in the Flint Metro League standings after going 2-0 this past week.
Their latest victory came on Friday, Jan. 22 against Holly, where the Wildcat defense was the story of the game. The Wildcats started the game strong, jumping out to a 17-0 lead before Holly finally scored with six minutes left in the second quarter.
Holly had the Wildcats lead trimmed to nine at halftime, 21-12, but the Wildcat defense cranked it up again in the third and fourth quarter. They held the Broncos to 13 second half points en route to their 43-25 victory.
Head Coach Al Poynter was thrilled with how well his team played. ‘Our girls got off to a great start tonight and recovered from their pressure defense to pull away in the second half,? he said.
Senior Taylor Medel led the Wildcats with 11 points and nine rebounds, while senior Allie Laidlaw had a strong overall game, finishing with 10 points, five rebounds and three assists.
‘It was a nice way to end a very difficult week and gives us a chance to move up in the standings,? Poynter added.
Prior to that, the Cats were involved in an impressive 57-54 come-from-behind, overtime victory against Lapeer East on Wednesday, Jan. 20.
The Wildcats were trailing for most of the evening, but were able to keep it within striking distance. Trailing the Eagles 38-31 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Wildcats defense turned the game around, holding Lapeer East to seven points in the fourth.
However, the Wildcats still found themselves trailing by two in the final seconds of the game. Medal hit the game tying shot with less than a second left, forcing overtime.
She finished with eight points and 12 rebounds.
In overtime, the Wildcats kept up the defensive pressure, outscoring Lapeer East 12-9 in the extra session.
Junior Mikaela Parrish lead the Wildcats with 26 points and six rebounds in her first game for Oxford.
‘We overcame a slow start defensively against a much-improved East team,? said Poynter. ‘Our girls played excellent defense in the fourth quarter and in overtime, and Mikaela was huge for us inside.?
With the victories, the Wildcats are 4-7 overall, and 4-5 in the FML. This week they travel to Flint Kearsley on Jan. 26 and Clio on Jan. 29.
Poynter said that he was proud of the way his team played this week and he hoped that it would be an indicator of things to come in the second half of the season.