Oxford’s Lady Cats couldn’t get the job done on the court against the Troy Colts in a physical Winterfest game that led to a 45-36 loss.
While they trailed behind most of the first half, the Lady Cats fought back to end the second quarter with a two-point lead of 23-21, but they could not match the Colts in the second half as they were outscored 24-13 in the final two quarters.
‘We didn’t match up with them physically and rebounds were a huge issue,? said Head Coach Steve Emert. ‘Skye Donaldson picked up three fouls within the first four minutes and so I lost my center right off the get-go. That makes a big difference.?
Oxford was led by Jessica Murphy with 15 points and 6 rebounds. Cherilyn Banas chipped in 8 points in the losing cause. The Colts were led by Rachel Selmanski with 16 points and Nicole Niemiec contributed 9.
Emert said they’re still trying to regroup after Murphy returned from missing four games due to injury.
‘She is a very good player and was averaging 17-19 points a game when she left. We were 7-1 when she left. Now, we’re 8-5, so we’ve lost a little bit, but at the same time some other kids have had to step forward and grow up.?
As far as his outlook on the second half of the season, Emert said they are ‘going to try to win as many games as they can.?
‘A lot of people don’t understand that we have five juniors and five sophomores. I only got one senior,? explained Emert. ‘So, when other teams? top players are seniors, we’re trying to compete with that.?
He is hoping to fix some issues in practice this week.
‘We want to emphasize working on execution and following through and what’s your teammate doing. Let’s communicate,? he said. ‘Those are things we want to do each day we have practice.?
The ladies will return to the court at home on Thursday against Birmingham Groves.
The game starts at 7 p.m.