By Kristi McDevitt
Sports Correspondent
After an 11-day break, the varsity girls basketball team took the court again in back-to-back competitions last week.
Oxford was on the road to take on powerhouse Flushing last Wednesday.
The Ladycats let Flushing get the best of them in the first quarter, going into the second down ten points (19-9), but came back strong and held that way the rest of the game.
Oxford outscored Flushing in the second and third quarters and went into the fourth down only five points.
The Ladycats finally tied the game with a few minutes left, but Flushing proved too much and they defeated Oxford 56-49.
Senior captian Mykala Salquist was top scorer with 19 points and four rebounds, and junior Lauren Harms had eight points in the game.
Head coach Al Poynter was pleased with his squad’s performance. ‘I am proud of our effort to come back, but we have to play that way from the start, especially on the road,? he said.
The next night, Oxford hosted the Romeo Bulldogs in their last non-league match-up before the regular season, which is set to start this week.
Oxford’s home court advantage wasn’t enough to push them to another victory as the Bulldogs routed the Ladycats 66-30.
When asked if the back-to-back contests were too much for his team, Poynter replied, ‘One would always like to play a team when you can play at your peak, and we were not at our peak, I think, because we were physically and emotionally spent from the previous game and the homecoming week.?
Salquist again led the squad with seven points and sophomore Kelsey Oliver and junior Danielle Esman each had six points.
League play starts for the Ladycats next week when they travel to Lapeer East on Tuesday and to Clio on Thursday.
Poynter laid down the three things his team needs to focus on to be competitive in the league ? defense, mental toughness, and keeping our confidence if and when things get rough.
Oxford heads in to Flint Metro league play at .500 with a 3-3 record.