Wildcats fall short in final seconds of play
By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
jnewell@mihomepaper.com
ORION TWP. — The Oxford varsity girls basketball team put in a valiant effort and almost had a come-from-behind win over rival Lake Orion Jan. 14.
But the last-seconds effort fell short in the Wildcats’ 46-63 loss when the Dragons were able to run out the clock.

The Dragons jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the first quarter, until the Wildcats battled back and took the 9-7 lead off a three-pointer by sophomore Mia Champagne with 1:31 left in the quarter.
Lake Orion’s Kara Veeder answered with a three-pointer of her own to give the Dragons a 10-9 lead with just under a minute to play. Oxford sophomore Katelyn Brockway drained a three-pointer with 40 seconds left in the first to give Oxford the 12-10 lead.
Back-and-forth play by both teams over the final seconds of the quarter gave Oxford the 15-13 lead at the end of one.
The second and third quarters belonged to the Dragons, who managed to keep a 10-point lead throughout most of the middle of the game. The Wildcats could not stop Lake Orion senior Izzy Wotlinski scored 12 of her 20 points in the second and third quarters. By the end of the first half the Dragons led 26-19.

Wotlinski started the second half with two free throws, giving the Dragons the 28-19 lead. Oxford’s Sophia Raab brought the game within seven points, 30-23, with a basket at 3:52 of the third quarter, but Lake Orion countered with a three-pointer to make it a 10-point lead, 33-23.
Dragon senior Charlotte Peplowski made two free throws to give Lake Orion a 12-point lead, 35-23, with just under three minutes remaining in the third. With 25 seconds left in the third, Oxford’s Clair Bruski had a breakaway and brought the game back to within 10 points, 37-27, to end the third quarter.
The fourth quarter saw a lot of back-and-forth play, with Oxford chipping away at the Dragons’ lead. With 2:07 left in the game, Oxford hit a three-pointer to make it 43-40.

Lake Orion kept the ball away from Oxford for the remaining two minutes, forcing the Wildcats to foul and send the Dragons to the free throw line. With 21 seconds left in the game, Lake Orion held a 46-40 lead. Brockway, from the left side of the court, hit a long three-pointer with 1 second left to close it to 46-43, and the Wildcats called a timeout.

On the inbounds pass Lake Orion ran the final second off the clock to seal the 46-43 victory.
Brockway led Oxford’s scoring with 15 points. Champagne had eight points. Junior Tegan O’Connor had seven points. Raab, senior Vivian Cruz and junior Camryn Quidort each contributed three points.
The Wildcats will look to split the matchup with Lake Orion when the Wildcats host the Dragons at 7 p.m. Feb. 6 at Oxford High School.
Oxford also lost a close league game to Stoney Creek, 46-43, on Jan. 17. The Wildcats are now 3-8 on the season and 0-2 in the OAA Red division.

The Wildcats were scheduled to take on North Branch in a nonconference game on Monday after Leader press time. The team travels to West Bloomfield on Thursday and then league-leading Clarkston on Jan. 28 to wrap up a three-game road trip.

The Wildcats’ next home game is 7 p.m. Jan. 31 against Ferndale (4-7).