Right now, the Oakland Activities Association is giving the young squad on the varsity girls basketball team an introduction to what OAA play is all about.
Their game against white division leader Avondale on Thursday, Jan. 20 was over by the time the second quarter rolled around. Avondale opened on a 19-2 run, forced nine Wildcat turnovers in the first quarter and cruised to a 61-32 drubbing of Oxford.
The Yellow Jackets were ranked 12th in the Class A Associated Press poll.
Oxford was forced into 23 turnovers for the game, while only forcing nine.
Senior Sam Murphy lead the Wildcats with 11 points.
Even though they trailed 38-17 at halftime, head coach Al Poynter was pleased that his young team didn’t give up and kept fighting until the final buzzer sounded.
‘Even with our poor start tonight, all 10 girls competed for 32 minutes against the best team in the league,? he said.
He added that he sees good things ahead for the team, which is seeing a starting lineup consist of sophomores and juniors.
‘If we clean up our turnovers and get a little tighter defensively, good things can happen for us down the home stretch of the season.
Lake Orion used a third quarter surge to turn a competitive gain into a blowout during their 55-25 victory over the varsity girls basketball team on Tuesday, Jan. 18.
The Wildcats came out strong in the first quarter, outscoring the Dragons 8-3, but it was all Lake Orion after that.
They took a 15-11 halftime lead and used a 23-9 third quarter to seize control of the game and ended any hopes of a comeback by outscoring Oxford 17-5 in the fourth quarter.
‘We got off to a good start to the game, but Lake Orion took it to us offensively in the third quarter,? Poynter said. ‘We are doing some good things, but we have to make sure we keep our heads up, continue to work hard and stay together as a team.?
Sophomore Shelby Davis led the Wildcats with seven points and five rebounds and sophomore Maddy Line contributed six points and seven rebounds.