By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
jnewell@mihomepaper.com
ORION TWP. — The Lake Orion varsity girls basketball team led for most of the game on Jan. 14 against cross-town rival Oxford, holding on after a fourth quarter surge by the Wildcats.
But the final-seconds effort by the Wildcats’ fell short and the Dragons were able to run out the clock and secure their first OAA Red division victory, 46-63, at home.
“I’m proud of the kids. They worked their tails off, got a win, which is the most important thing. Now we’re 1-0 in league play, 8-3 overall so we’re in good shape right now,” head coach Bob Brydges said. “This team, if they play to their capabilities can play with anybody.”
The Dragons jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the first quarter, until the Wildcats battled back and took the 9-7 lead off a three-pointer by sophomore Mia Champagne with 1:31 left in the quarter.
Lake Orion’s Kara Veeder answered with a three-pointer of her own to give the Dragons a 10-9 lead with just under a minute to play. Oxford sophomore Katelyn Brockway drained a three-pointer with 40 seconds left in the first to give Oxford the 12-10 lead.
Back-and-forth play by both teams over the final seconds of the quarter gave Oxford the 15-13 lead at the end of one.
The second and third quarters belonged to the Dragons, who managed to keep a 10-point lead throughout most of the middle of the game. The Wildcats could not stop Lake Orion senior Izzy Wotlinski scored 12 of her 20 points in the second and third quarters. By the end of the first half the Dragons led 26-19.
Wotlinski started the second half with two free throws, giving the Dragons the 28-19 lead. Oxford’s Sophia Raab brought the game within seven points, 30-23, with a basket at 3:52 of the third quarter, but Lake Orion countered with a three-pointer to make it a 10-point lead, 33-23.
Dragon senior Charlotte Peplowski made two free throws to give Lake Orion a 12-point lead, 35-23, with just under three minutes remaining in the third. With 25 seconds left in the third, Oxford’s Clair Bruski had a breakaway and brought the game back to within 10 points, 37-27, to end the third quarter.
“The first quarter was sloppy. We did not play to our level of ability. The second and third quarters I thought we played really well. And then the fourth quarter we kind of reverted back to the first quarter and let Oxford back in it,” said Brydges. “If we play to the level that we’re capable of playing at, we’re probably should of pulled away a little bit there.”
The fourth quarter saw a lot of back-and-forth play, with Oxford chipping away at the Dragons’ lead. With 2:07 left in the game, Oxford hit a three-pointer to make it 43-40.
Lake Orion kept the ball away from Oxford for the remaining two minutes, forcing the Wildcats to foul and send the Dragons to the free throw line. With 21 seconds left in the game, Lake Orion held a 46-40 lead. Brockway, from the left side of the court, hit a long three-pointer with 1 second left to close it to 46-43, and the Wildcats called a timeout.
On the inbounds pass Lake Orion ran the final second off the clock to seal the 46-43 victory.
Wotlinski was the Dragon’s leading scorer with 18 points and five rebounds. Peplowski netted 10 points and four rebounds, while Riley House scored 8. Kara Veeder added 6 points and five rebounds and LaLa Hill contributed 4 points and 3 assists.
Heading into OAA Red league play, Brydges knows that his team will have to play consistent ball to compete and challenge for the division title.
“I think it’s a wide-open race right now. There are four or five teams that could win the Red. West Bloomfield lost a ton of kids from last year, including the two big ones, the Davis twins,” Brydges said. “I think us, Clarkston, West Bloomfield might have a chance. Stoney Creek potentially. We’ve all got chances to win this league. It’s a wide-open race this year and whoever plays the best over the next four weeks is going to win it all.”