Oxford’s Varsity Girls suffered a heartbreaking loss Friday night, losing 52-48 against Cilo, setting the stage for a showdown against Fenton for the top spot in the Flint Metro League on Feb. 2.
The game went back and forth throughout, and Oxford found themselves trailing at 21-21 at halftime.
Junior Allie Laidlaw stepped up her game in the second, scoring 13 of her team high 18 points and helped Oxford regain the lead. But they couldn’t hold on. The Wildcats were up by five with four minutes left in the game, but Cilo used a 13-4 run to close the game, putting Oxford a half game behind Fenton.
‘We played excellent defense in the first and third quarters but we let Clio do too many things offensively in the second and fourth quarters,? said Oxford Head Coach Al Poynter. ‘We did not finish the game well both offensively and defensively, and credit Clio with taking advantage of our mistakes.?
The Wildcats second half of the season could not have started any better, beating Flint Kearsley 42-30 and staying atop the Flint Metro League standings.
Overcoming a four point first quarter, the Wildcats were able to hold Kearsley to 20 points the rest of the game. They outscored Kearsley 25-12 in the second half.
Senior Le’Essa Collier helped trigger the comeback, leading the Wildcats with ten points and eight rebounds.
‘We got off to a slower start tonight, and Kearsley had a lot to do with that with their slow-paced offense,? said Poynter. ‘We picked up our defense effort and held them to 20 points in the final three quarters.?
Senior Brooke Bocquet contributed eight points and four assists and Junior Megan Tilley added seven points.
The Wildcats are now 8-3 in Flint Metro League Play and are 8-5 overall.