By Kristi McDevitt
Sports Correspondent
The Oxford varsity girls are still looking for a league victory after competing last week against Linden and Brandon.
On Tuesday, Oxford hosted the Linden Eagles and both teams were looking for their first Flint Metro League win. For three quarters Oxford held strong going into the fourth up a point with 23. It was junior Stacey Sutphin that jump-started Oxford’s offense in the fourth. Sutphin drove the lane for a layup, and then battled for an offense rebound only to be fouled on the put back attempt. She knocked down both free throws for Oxford to tie the game at 27.
Late in the fourth Oxford had too many unforced turnovers and handed Linden too many easy scoring opportunities and lost the game 41-31. The Ladycats are competitive and tenacious, there is no question about their abilities as a team, so why the 3-8 record overall and the 0-4 record in the league? In almost all of the league losses Oxford has been right in the game, if not winning, in the fourth quarter.
‘I think that we do the best we can at the time, but we sometimes make mistakes at key times, and our opponents have (so far) taken advantage of those mistakes,? stated head coach Al Poynter. ‘We have to turn our defense into points. We also have to cut down on our unforced turnovers, make more of our easier shots, and hit a few more free throws. All are correctable IF we keep working hard and have a positive attitude.?
High scorers for Oxford were freshman Joelle Harms with 11 points, senior captain Mykala Salquist with nine, and senior captain Ashley Seeling with seven points.
Oxford traveled to Brandon on Thursday and was defeated 54-35.
The Blackhawks were a tough match-up for the Ladycats. Brandon outscored the Ladycats in the first quarter 17-5 before Oxford’s offense and defense snapped back in the second and the third quarters.
The Ladycats headed into the fourth down only ten points despite the first quarter deficit, but couldn’t get an edge on Brandon who scored 18 points to Oxford’s 9 in the fourth to win the game.
Freshman Joelle Harms was top scorer for Oxford with eleven points and sophomore Kelsey Oliver and junior Danielle Esman each had seven points.
Oxford’s record drops to 0-5 in the FML, and 3-9 overall.