By Kristi McDevitt
Sports Correspondent
The varsity Ladycats have been working hard to overcome the issues that cost them their first loss in their season opener against Lake Orion a couple of weeks ago.
‘Our ball handling and team defense have improved,? said head coach Al Poynter. ‘Our turnovers and our opponent’s points per game have also gone down.?
The improvement is visible not only in the Ladycat’s performance on the hardwood, but in their record as well. Oxford is currently 3-1 after they notched a couple of victories last week over Richmond and Birmingham Groves.
Oxford hosted the Richmond Blue Devils last Thursday and jumped out to a quick lead in the first quarter.
The quarter ended with Oxford up on the Blue Devils 12-5, but Richmond answered by outscoring the Ladycats in the second quarter and both teams went into the half with Oxford leading by only one point. After some guidance from Poynter at the half, the Ladycats took command of the third and fourth quarters and beat Richmond 47-36. Senior captains Mykala Salquist and Ashley Seeling led the team down the stretch by scoring much needed points and battling for rebounds. Seeling finished with 13 points and Salquist had 10 points and 3 blocks.
Together, the duo set the tone for rebounding against Richmond noted Poynter.
As a team Oxford had 26 offensive rebounds as Salquist had 14 rebounds and Seeling had 12. Coach Poynter credits the win to Oxford’s defense stating: ‘As our defense goes, so our team is going to go all season.?
In their second non-league game of the week, Oxford hosted Birmingham Groves this past Saturday.
The Ladycats found themselves down going into the halftime break 18-12. Oxford’s offense and defense sprang back into action in the second half. Oxford outscored Groves by thirteen points in the third and the fourth quarter to win the game 36-29.
Salquist led Oxford with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and a blocked shot. Following their captain’s example, sophomore shooting guard Kelsey Oliver had 8 points with four of the points coming from quick jumpers off Oxford’s fast breaks, junior Stacey Sutphin had 7 points, and freshman Joelle Harms had 6 points in the victory.
Coach Al Poynter is pleased with the offensive numbers his team is putting up. ‘I feel our magic number is 40’if we get 40, or keep our opponents under 40 then we have a great chance to win.?