The Oxford Academy Lady Patriots girls basketball team began Academy League play this past week with road contests versus Sage Hill of Newport Coast and Whitney High of Cerritos. The Lady Patriots were tested in both games but persevered and came out with victories in both games to start out league play with a 2-0 mark. This stretches the Lady Patriots’ win streak to six games and gives them an overall record on the season of 12-3 record, which is good enough to be ranked No. 3 in Division 5A of the CIF Southern Section. On Friday night, the Lady Patriots went on the road to take on their fiercest academic and athletic rival, Whitney High of Cerritos, who Oxford had not beaten in five years. The gymnasium was packed with students and alumni who came back to celebrate homecoming and it made for a lively environment for the home team Wildcats. To start the game, Oxford didn’t seem intimidated by the large opposing crowd or impacted by their recent lack of success versus Whitney as the Lady Patriots took a 16-4 lead with two minutes left in the first quarter as Whitney struggled with Oxford’s full court press resulting in transition baskets. But the Wildcats settled down and with the crowd support rallied back using double teams on defense to frustrate the Lady Patriots who didn’t score a field goal over the next 10 minutes. In fact, Oxford who averages over 56 points a game, managed to score just two points in the second quarter. Whitney was powered by Nicole Lee scoring 11 first half points, and was able to get six rebounds from freshman Justine Wu. The Wildcats went on a 21- 2 run to finish up with a 25-18 lead at halftime. The Lady Patriots were stunned. In the second half, Whitney’s opening possession resulted in a Wu three-point basket to stretch the Wildcats’ lead to 10 points. Oxford continued to struggle to score and only managed six points in the third quarter. Wu converted another three- point shot late in the quarter as Whitney maintained a commanding 31-24 advantage to end the period. Oxford was in unfamiliar territory as this was only the second time in 14 games this season that the Lady Patriots started the fourth quarter from behind. Coach David Clifton made adjustments including installing a four-guard line up to pressure Whitney’s perimeter game and to spread the floor on offense for the Lady Patriots. The additional guard on the floor was junior Celine Tran who sparked the defense and the Oxford held Whitney to a single field goal in the fourth quarter. The small lineup also opened up the inside for freshman center Austyn Masuno, who immediately went to work and scored four quick points. Then on Oxford’s next possession, Angie Gagnon hit a 3-point shot to cap a 7-1 run and close the Wildcat lead to 32-31 with four minutes left. Whitney managed to score two free throws to go back up 34-31, but Tran making the most of her minutes drilled a baseline jumper to cut the lead to 34-33. This was followed by four more points from Masuno to cap off a 6-2 Oxford run giving the Lady Patriots a 37-33 lead. But Whitney wasn’t done yet as freshman Christine Hamakawa drilled a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left to cut the lead to 37-36. In desperation, the Wildcats had to foul Masuno, who calmly converted a one and one and the bonus to close out the game and secure a 39-36 victory for the Lady Patriots. Top scores in the game for Oxford were Austyn Masuno with 18 points, while Angie Gagnon scored nine points. Whitney was led by Nicole Lee, who scored 16 points. Justine Wu contributed nine points. Whitney has dominated the Academy League over the past seven years, winning five league titles. In four of those years, the Wildcats went undefeated in league play. Despite the loss to Oxford, the Wildcats are still expected to be near the top of the league and can make up for the loss as the teams meet up again on Thursday, Jan. 28 at Oxford.
