The Varsity Girls basketball season came to an abrupt end on Monday, March 1 as they lost their district opener to Romeo 59-41.
Oxford fought hard the entire game after losing their senior starting point guard Allie Laidlaw within the opening two minutes of the game.
The team felt the immediate effects as they struggled to get going offensively, only scoring six points in the opening quarter.
They managed to stay within striking distance throughout the second and third quarters, but Romeo used a 13-4 fourth quarter to close out the Wildcats season.
‘I am very proud of how our team fought back and stayed in the game even with Allie’s injury,? said Head Coach Al Poynter.
The extent of Laidlaw’s injury is not known at this time.
‘We kept the game within two possessions most of the time, but we couldn’t get the key defensive stops when we needed them,? he added.
Senior Megan Tilley led the team with 13 points, while junior Mikaela Parrish added 11 points and nine rebounds for the Wildcats.
The two previous games saw the Wildcats close out their Flint Metro League career by defeating Linden 33-26 on Senior night, Tuesday, Feb. 23, before losing to Holly 50-47 in overtime to close out the regular season on Friday, Feb. 23.
Overall, the Wildcats finished the season 11-10 overall, 11-7 in the FML after beginning the season 2-7 overall and 2-5 in conference play.
Poynter said that he was proud of the way his seniors played all season long.
‘They have been great kids in our program going all the way back to their middle school years, and they have set an outstanding example for our younger players with their effort, character and positive attitude all season long.?
The seniors were Allie Laidlaw, Rikki Jarvis, Megan Tilley, Emily Brooks, Kara Charles, Susan Reynolds and Taylor Medel.
Poynter added that his seniors did an outstanding job playing hard and improving everyday in practice.
‘Overall, I couldn’t be prouder of our players individually and our team in general. Our team showed it’s character all season by overcoming a difficult start and rallying to win nine of our final 12 games,? said Poynter.
‘We even survived a mid-season stretch with seven of nine games on the road and still hung in there with a very balanced FML. This was a fun team to coach and one that I will greatly miss,? he concluded.