Another year, another undefeated girls basketball team at Oxford Middle School.
Last year it was the eighth grade girl’s team. This year, the seventh grade team took it’s turn going undefeated, going 12-0 and winning their league title.
‘We actually joined a new league this year, so we came in with a bang,? said seventh grade basketball coach Tim Collins. ‘It was kind of nice.?
The team moved into a league that featured middle schools from Clarkston, Lake Orion and Pontiac.
The season began with nine girls showing interest. By the first tryout, Collins had 20 girls show up and wound up cutting the team down to 14.
‘Going into it, my assistant Crystal Poulin and I didn’t know what to expect…we were pleasantly surprised,? he said. ‘The girls played tough. They played scrappy and they played with a lot of class and a lot of sportsman ship. They definitely represented Oxford Middle School in a good way.?
Collins credits the toughness and experience of Lisa Savich, Christina Medici, Jennifer Brasington, Logan Medel and Abby Butkiewizc.
‘How our team worked is that those five had played a lot of basketball before in AAU…they brought a lot of attention to detail and toughness to practice, which helped the other girls improve,? he said.
He added that Oxford was the most agressive team in the league. ‘I think in practice with those five, they kind of started it from their experiences,? he added.
For Collins, the best part about the season wasn’t going undefeated. It was seeing all of his players excell in the classroom as well as on the court.
‘We had no behavior or academic problems at all,? he said.
Collins believes that this group of seventh graders, along with previous teams that came before them, should help breed success at the high school level once they arrive.
‘Now that Coach Poynter has done a great job at getting girls involved in basketball at Oxford and then hopefully our AAU programs and our middle school programs, once they get to high school they can start to have a lot of success up there, both in the classroom and on the court,? he said.
Collins would like to thank all of the parents who came out and supported the team this year.