Megan Kelley
Staff Writer
OXFORD TWP. – At the Oxford Wildcat varsity girls basketball team’s home opener on Thursday, the ladies clinched their first win of the season, defeating the Davison Cardinals 42-34.
The win comes on the heels of the team’s first loss against Dakota High School on Dec. 4.
“We were really happy. For our first game, we came out, played extremely hard,” said head coach Rachel Bryer. “Dakota is a great team. They’ve always been a really solid program. Coming out this year and trying to put the pieces together, especially on the road, it was a good challenge for us. Our season is competitive. I don’t think I’ve seen a season this competitive in a while.”
This year, the Wildcats moved up from the OAA White Division, and are now competing against some of the top teams in the state in the OAA Red Division, the top division in the league. The OAA Red Division not only houses state runners up West Bloomfield, but also includes Rochester, Stoney Creek, Lake Orion and Clarkston.
“I think every game we’re going to be faced with some pretty decent talent. Next week we have Belleville and they’re ranked in the state. They have some pretty good players and athletes on their team so I think the girls are getting pumped for that,” Bryer said. “Overall, every game is going to be something we look forward to, some high competitiveness this year.”
Team captains this year include senior Peyton Richter and junior Lexie Yankee. Other players to look for include junior Allison Haufstedler, freshman Mia Champagne and junior Sophia Raab.
“We’re tough. We bring it every single night and I can’t talk enough about these girls’ and their dedication and hustle. They’re not scared to go up against the best. They’re going to be the first on the floor to get the ball. They’ve got some grind to them. They don’t back down from anything,” said Bryer.
As a new team in the Red Division, Bryer doesn’t consider her team underdogs and hopes that they can have fun and improve with every game.
“Number one goal is to have fun. That’s their number one goal, that’s my number one goal. Second is to just work hard, compete every game and improve. Every game has got to be an improvement over the last. I think our internal goals have always been: we have to rebound the ball, we’re going to push the ball, we’re going to get after it on defense,” said Bryer. “I think we’re going to be competitive in the Red, and I think we’ll compete with every team, every night. But, coming into the Red last minute when we weren’t supposed to be, it’s just going to be a grind every night.”
The team showed off some of its strengths during their game against Davison, securing their first win of the season and starting off the first week of play with a 1-1 overall record.
It was a tight, low-scoring match in the first half with Oxford maintaining the lead but only by one point. In the final minute of the half, the Wildcats implemented a devastating press on the Cardinals, who could not break it, causing several turnovers and allowing Oxford to score three more points before the buzzer.
At the start of the second half, Oxford found themselves up 17-13 but quickly lost the lead to a determined Davison offense who scored once and then hit a three to put them up by just one point.
Oxford fired back with a scoring run, ending the third quarter up 32-21.
The fourth and final quarter had a bit more back and forth, with turnover and scoring opportunities but Davison could not stop the Wildcat offense and close the gap. At the final buzzer, Oxford remained in front, earning their first win of the season, 42-34.
Leading scorers for the Wildcats were Haufstedler with 18 points, Richter with eight points, junior Emma Beggs with six points and Yankee with four points.
The ladies hit the road to take on Regina High School on Monday after Oxford Leader press time, then host Belleville on Thursday with a 7 p.m. tip-off time.