By Megan Kelley
Staff Writer
OXFORD TWP. — Lake Orion High School’s varsity girls basketball team clinched their fifth win in a row after a 44-40 nail-biter victory over the Oxford Wildcats last Friday, and a decisive win over Lutheran Northwest on Monday, 68-44.
The Lake Orion ladies came out of the gate strong with a number of steals to keep the Wildcats from scoring for most of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Oxford managed to keep pace with Lake Orion and a final three point buzzer shot reinvigorated the Wildcats heading into the locker room at halftime.
At the start of the third quarter, Oxford began a comeback, tying the score up with just a few minutes left in the quarter.
The Dragons took a two point lead and another last second three point shot, this time from Lake Orion, put the Dragons up by five.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Wildcats outpaced Lake Orion to tie the game.
An impressive Dragon defense and several three point shots subdued the Wildcats but only for a bit as the Oxford team closed in on the Dragons with just a few seconds left in the game.
The Wildcats hoped to force a turnover by intentionally fouling Lake Orion player Izzy Wotlinski twice, yielding two extra points for the Dragons to put them up 43-40.
With just two seconds left, the Wildcats fouled Lake Orion’s Ryann Pawlaczyk who added another point for the Dragons. The final score at the buzzer was a close 44-40.
Leading for the Dragons were senior captain Pawlaczyk with 16 points and four rebounds, junior captain Wotlinksi with 13 points and six rebounds and junior Charlotte Peplowski with eight points, three steals and four rebounds.
Also adding to the winning effort were junior Nevaeh Wood with 10 rebounds, senior Lexie Strohschein with four points and four rebounds, and senior Ellie Britt with three points.
On Monday, the Dragons hosted Lutheran Northwest, defeating the Crusaders 68-44 and earning their fifth win in a row.
Wotlinksi led the team with 18 points while Pawlaczyk added another 15. Strohschein added 12 points and 10 rebounds, Peplowski had seven points, Wood dropped five and sophomore Dani Heck added another two points for the win.
The Dragons are now 3-6 in the OAA Red and 13-7 overall.
The ladies host the Stoney Creek High School Cougars on Tuesday after Review press time for the final OAA Red match up of their regular season.