The youth-laden Brandon girls basketball team learned a harsh lesson about closing out games Nov. 4 against Oxford.
Brandon, who had trailed 18-9 at halftime, had taken a 36-32 lead with 32 seconds remaining. However, Oxford junior Megan Stumph scored four of the Wildcats? final five points, including the game-winning shot as time expired, as the Wildcats won the game 37-36, lifting Oxford to 7-10 overall and 4-6 in the Flint Metro League. Brandon fell to 6-12 overall and 6-4 in the league.
With three seconds left, Oxford’s Jenni Rhodes was fouled. She made the first shot, but missed the second, setting up Stumph’s last-minute heroics.
Brandon outscored Oxford 16-4 in the third quarter to take a 25-22 lead at the end of the third. The Blackhawks tied the game at 32 on a Meg Donnay steal and layup with 1:30 left, then Savannah Stedman connected with 1:05 left to give the Blackhawks a 34-32 lead.
Mariah Andre and Stedman each connected on a free throw to give the Blackhawks a four-point lead with half a minute left. However, as the Wildcats proved, that would not be enough.
Stedman led Brandon with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Jessica Liebner added seven points.
The Blackhawks would also like to forget the third quarter of their Oct. 30 game against visiting Davison.
The Cardinals outscored Brandon 23-9 in that period on their way to a 62-49 win. Davison improved to 12-4 with the win.
Stedman led the Blackhawks with 11 points, while Liebner added nine.
Brandon returns to action Nov. 11 when they host Lapeer West at 7 p.m.