F5: Avondale leaves Oxford in a swirl
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
AUBURN HILLS — Standout players can bring forth highlights. Team basketball can win championships.
At least that’s what Auburn Hills Avondale is banking on this season in girls basketball.
Like an F5 tornado, the Yellowjackets keep blowing past opponents, damagin everything in their wake, and were back to their usual ways Thursday night at home. Avondale opened the game with a 19-2 run and never looked back in handing visiting Oxford a 61-32 OAA White Division blow.
The win for Avondale was its ninth straight, and the Yellowjackets, ranked 12th in the Class A Associated Press poll, had 14 assists on 21 made baskets and had nine turnovers overall — and just two by halftime.
Avondale (9-1, 6-0) also forced 23 turnovers despite pulling off the defensive reigns in the second half.
“What a great group of girls to coach,” smiled Avondale coach Dave Muczynski, who lost one of his top players to transfer yet his team has stepped up to post one of their best starts in school history.
“I’m very pleased with what we have as a team,” added Muczynski. “There are no individuals on this team. The girls are looking to just win, to get the ball in the basket. They don’t check the statbook after the game. We don’t have parents up in the crowd upset that we don’t have a lot of kids averaging in double digits. We have a group of girls that flat out play team basketball.”
Oxford coach Al Poynter was extremely impressed with Avondale’s team play.
“I tell you what, if they remain healthy, that team can go a long way (in the state tournament,” conceded Poynter, whose team is going through the pains of a rebuilding season. “They pass the ball extremely well, as good as any team I’ve seen.”
Avondale forced Oxford into nine first-quarter turnovers and 12 in the first half in building a 38-17 lead at the break. The Wildcats (2-8, 2-4) kept at it despite a deficit of over 20 points the rest of the way.
“I told the girls to build on the positives,” said Poynter, who lost eight players off last season’s roster, including his squad’s top returnee to ineligibility in late December. “The past three games, we’ve started three sophomores and two juniors. We are very young. But the girls are working hard. They are coming along and starting to see what they need to do.”
Avondale extended the lead to 49-25 at the e4nd of three quarters and substituted freely in the second half, sending 10 of 13 players in to the scoring column.
Junior forward Hannah Little led the way with 13 points, eight rebounds and five steals. Senior guard Andrea Strauss knocked down all three of her 3-point attempts to finish with 13 points, four assists and three steals for the Yellowjackets.
Senior guard Courtney Williams had a fine floor game with seven points, five steals and four assists, while sophomore guard Quennece Garrison was a sparkplug with four points, nine rebounds and three steals for Avondale, which will play fourth-place Birmingham Groves and second-place West Bloomfield next week.
“Next week is championship week. We have two big games coming up,” said Muczynski. “We’ll take it one game at a time. But if we win both of those, we could be in good shape to win the league, although there are no guarantees.”
Senior forward Sam Murphy came off the bench to score 11 points, nine off three pointers, for Oxford.
To submit information to www.northoaklandsports.com, e-mail dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com. To advertise, e-mail advertising@northoaklandsports.com
Category: Auburn Hills Avondale, Oxford, Prep Wraps
