A slow second half cost the Wildcats varsity girls basketball team a win in the Oakland Activities Association White division Thursday evening.
The Wildcats dropped below .500 for their conference record following a 54-43 loss at the hands of Farmington.
It looked like Oxford had a strong possibility of grabbing a road victory after taking a four point lead into halftime, 25-21.
‘I was a little concerned…on the bus ride over that we weren’t ready to play, and I thought…in the first half we were,? varsity head coach Steve Emert said.
However, past tendencies reared their ugly head as Farmington outscored Oxford 15-9 in the third quarter.
‘We just sort of let the pressure get to us a little bit. Instead of stepping up to the challenge, we again played not to lose,? he added.
From there, Farmington pulled away in the fourth as they outscored Oxford 18-9 over the final eight minutes.
‘We just didn’t sustain our focus in the second half,? Emert said. ‘I thought our focus was pretty good in the first half. We got away from keeping one of their girls off the boards…(and) we had a lot of situations where we had one shot without an offense rebound, and that hurt us.?
Junior Shelby Davis led the Wildcats with 19 points, while junior Meagan Neff had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The girls played Farmington Hills Harrison at home on Tuesday, Jan. 7 before hosting Birmingham Groves during Winterfest on Friday, Jan. 10.