Second-half surge lifts Lake Orion past rival Oxford

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

LAKE ORION — Tuesday’s first half between Lake Orion and Oxford definitely was not a thing a beauty. For the host Dragons, the second half, however, was quite a gem.

The Dragons led only 15-11 at the half, but punished Oxford in the second half to post a 55-25 OAA crossover girls basketball triumph.

Lake Orion outscored the visiting Wildcats 40-14 over the final 16 minutes.

“The first half was really ugly. I mean really ugly,” admitted Lake Orion coach Steve Roberts. “We couldn’t get anything to fall. I thought we did a better job in the second half. We scored (40) in the second half. We shot the ball better and created some turnovers.”

Lake Orion (5-5) dropped a 39-38 heartbreaker to Clarkston, its other neighboring rival, last Friday. This time it wasn’t close.

The Dragons have not lost to Oxford since the fall 2001 season, when the Wildcats reached the Class A state quarterfinals under the late Ian Smith.

Lake Orion opened up the second half with a 23-9 run, which turned a four-point halftime lead at the half into a 38-20 advantage entering the fourth quarter. The Dragons closed with a 17-7 spurt to make the final a 30-point blowout.

“We used to always open with Oxford every year, but not this year. They didn’t want to play us in the opener this time,” said Roberts. “We still got to play them, which is good, and we still beat them. It’s not tradition playing them in the middle of the season, but we still got to play one of our rivals.”

Lake Orion sent nine players into the scoring column. Laura Turnball and Maddie Hutchinson both scored 15 points for the Dragons. Dan Schrauben added seven points for Lake Orion.

Oxford (2-7) was able to keep the Dragons’ top player, Marissa Secontine, off the scoreboard, but could not stop the rest of the Dragons.

Shelby Davis had seven points and five rebounds and Maddy Line had six points and seven rebounds for Oxford, which has struggled with mostly a new roster compared to last year and the loss of starting center Mikaela Parrish, who will miss the rest of the season.

“We had a good start to the game but Lake Orion took it to us offensively in the third quarter,” said Oxford coach Al Poynter. “We are doing some good things, but we have to make sure we keep our heads up, continue to work hard, and stay together as a team.”

To submit information to www.northoaklandsports.com, e-mail dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com.  To advertise, e-mail advertising@northoaklandsports.com

Tags: girls basketball, prep girls basketball

Category: Lake Orion, Oxford, Prep Wraps