By Dean Vaglia
Leader Staff Writer
Both the boys and girls Oxford High School Basketball teams have reached the end of their regular seasons; the boys will go to Davison High School for MHSAA district playoffs.
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The girls began their run with a bye day on Monday, Feb. 28 and played the Grand Blanc Bobcats to a 27-59 loss on Wednesday, March 2.
“The girls prepared as much as they could,” Rachel Bryer, girls head coach, said. “[Grand Blanc’s players] are phenomenal athletes, and they play in a little bit higher division of basketball than us, but the girls prepared well for it. They knew what to look for on defense.”
Key players were Allison Hufstedler with nine points and seven rebounds, Miranda Wyniemko with five points and Nevaeh Wood with five points.
The girls end their season with a record of 12 wins and six losses.
“I think that these girls had a great season given what they have gone through,” Bryer said. “Whether it be Nov. 30, whether it COVID, whether it be rescheduled snow day [and] three injuries, they came out. And it did not matter who I put on the floor or what I asked them to do … they were always willing to go with what was best for the team, and just that alone is all enough — it is all I could ask for.”
Breyer also praised the team for giving 100% each game, including the Grand Blanc playoff match.
“There was not one time where we gave up and tried to not score,” Breyer said. “We did not stop playing defense and let them have easy buckets. They played to the very end of the season.”
The boys started their away-only week against the Berkley Bears on March 1 and snagged a 52-44 win, ending a three-game losing streak.
“We were fantastic against Berkley,” Steve Laidlaw, boys head coach, said.
They then went to Birmingham Seaholm on March 3 and took a 41-47 loss. The game was a constant struggle to get ahead of the Seaholm Maples, but the home side outscored the Wildcats throughout the second half.
“Just did not get it done,” Laidlaw said.
Key players were Alec Brown with 19 points against Berkley, 11 points against Seaholm; Jake Champagne with 17 points against Berkley; Mitchell Viviano with 11 rebounds against Berkley and Bryce Esman with 11 points and nine rebounds against Seaholm.
The boys ended their regular season with eight wins and 12 losses, tying for third with Troy Athens and Berkey in the OAA Blue with a conference record of five wins and five losses.
“We are looking forward to playoffs,” Laidlaw said.
The boys played the Flint Kearsley Hornets at 7 p.m. on Monday at Davison High School as their first game in the District 4 playoffs. While the score is not available at press time, they will play the Davison Cardinals at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 9 if they beat Flint Kearsley. Tickets are available at gofan.co/app/school/MI10050.