GIRLS BASKETBALL: Rochester smothers Oxford to advance to district finals

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

ROCHESTER HILLS — Rochester girls basketball coach Adam Sheldon has slowly seen his team come of age this season.

The Falcons, who finished 3-18 last season, have seen some tremendous improvement in recent weeks, and have picked up a pair of postseason wins on its growing resume.

Rochester, which knocked off Lake Orion, 39-34, in an upset on Monday in its district opener, added another impressive win Wednesday on its home floor in a district semifinal, topping Oxford, 44-28.

After splitting with Oxford in the regular season, which included a 36-22 setback two weeks ago to the Wildcats, the Falcons turned in one of their top performances of the year to keep their postseason alive.

Rochester forced 22 turnovers and shot a season high 19-for-40 from the floor (48 percent) in advancing to the district finals for the first time in five seasons. The district host Falcons (9-13) will face Rochester Stoney Creek (14-7) at 7 p.m. Friday for the district trophy.

OVER THE TOP: Oxford’s Jessica Murphy tires to block the shot attempt by Rochester’s Aubrey Konal during Wednesday’s Class A district semifinal. Photo | Kirk Bearse, www.catsdenphoto.com

“We talked about being excited playing a district game at home,” said Sheldon, who noted the larger than usual Falcons’ partisan crowd with a large student section.

“We lost to them (recently) where we came out too excited, threw up a couple of air balls,” continued Sheldon. “They are still learning how to turn that energy into productive things. That’s what we talked about. Oxford was playing hard and they are getting after it defensively, pressuring us. We just had to execute. Win the game within the game. Don’t turn the ball over too much and they did a great of executing.”

Using a full-court press Oxford forced six turnovers in the first quarter and held Rochester to just two field goals in building a 6-4 advantage. The bottom came out on the Wildcats after that point.

Oxford made just five field goals during the final three quarters, and did not make a basket from the field in the third period. The Wildcats finished the night just 7-for-39 from the field (18 percent), only 13-for-24 for the foul line (54.2 percent) and were 1-for-10 from outside the 3-point arc in the contest.

“The wheels kind of came off on us,” sighed first-year Oxford coach Steve Emert, who took a three-win team to 10 wins this season. “We had three wins last season and the program has been down. It was my first year and they learned a whole different system. We didn’t have our normal point guard tonight. I thought our two little freshmen point guards gave it all they had. The wheels sort of came off and we couldn’t seem to find a spare.”

Rochester responded from its 6-4 deficit after eight minutes of play with a 14-7 run in the second quarter for a 18-13 lead at the half. The Falcons exploded with a 21-6 third-quarter spurt to build a 39-19 lead entering the fourth quarter.

The 21 points is the most the Falcons have scored in a single frame this season and their 16-point winning margin is the second highest of the year.

“Our best practice of the year was yesterday,” admitted Sheldon, who felt his team carried that into Wednesday’s game. “I think we gelled at the right time. That was one (of our best quarters). We haven’t scored 21 in a quarter yet. The transition game came into effect and Oxford’s girls were a little tired being down.”

A total of eight Falcons reached the scoring column, led by senior guard Zhana Randolph’s nine points and three steals. Senior Abigail Rawling added eight points, senior Lindsey Larivee chipped in with six points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots, and junior Stephanie VonBehren followed with six points and four boards for the Falcons, who held a 26-23 edge on the boards.

Junior Shelby Davis had seven points, four rebounds and four steals for Oxford (10-11), which was missing senior starter Michelle Gilmore for disciplinary reasons. The Wildcats didn’t have another player score more than five points.

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Tags: Basketball, girls basketball, High School Girls Basketball, MHSAA Class A Girls Basketball Districts, Oxford Girls Basketball, Rochester Girls Basketball

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