Congratulations to the Oxford Lady Blackhawks seniors. Pictured from L to R: Lizzy Knapp, Leah Oliver, Jocie Finch, and Ava Benjamin. (Photo by Morgan Golliver)

OXFORD – After facing off against the Lady Storm last week, the Oxford Blackhawks girls' basketball team welcomed Unadilla Valley to Oxford this time. The Blackhawks honored its four seniors prior to tip-off. Congratulations to Lizzy Knapp, Leah Oliver, Ava Benjamin, and Jocie Finch, who all had great experiences on the team throughout the states run in 2023 and throughout their high school basketball career.

It was an intense game between both MAC teams that have been up and down this season. However, UV swept the two-game series, spoiling Oxford's special night with a close 39-34 victory in the final moments. UV now sits in second place behind Greene in the MAC division II with a 4-2 divisional record. Oxford is fourth in the league out of five total teams.

Oxford came out to a fast start, even settling on an early 5-1 run. Even though the Blackhawks slowed down in the second quarter, they still held a one-point 17-16 lead. First half efforts were driven by Oxford's defense as they forced UV to turn the ball over multiple times, where the Storm was unable to move inside the paint.

After the break, both teams played neck-and-neck with Oxford still holding on to the tight lead. UV's Jaiden Schrag gave the Storm a clean slate and made the deciding free-throws and layups to put the game in her team's favor. Those cruical eight minutes belonged to Schrag as she posted all of UV's 13 points in the fourth quarter alone. Oxford saw strength in three-point shooting from senior Ava Benjamin, but she was unable to set more up late in the contest. Oxford was outscored 13-7 in the final quarter.

Jaiden Schrag, Natalie Crandall, and Kora Johnson were the only play-makers for the Storm, but that was all they needed. Schrag finished strong with 21 points as Crandall added 14 points. Johnson had four points in the win.

Ava Benjamin led the all-around team efforts for the Blackhawks with 11 points, including three three-pointers. Emily Holbert finished with eight points as Jocie Finch had four points. Taegan Manwarren, Margaret Rovente, and Raya Warner all had three points while Lizzy Knapp got things started with two points in the first possession.

UV (6-11) heads to Harpursville this evening at 7:15 p.m . Oxford drops to 5-12 and head to Bainbridge-Guilford on Wednesday at 7:15 p.m.

Scores by quarter:

UV 6 10 10 13–39

OX 13 4 10 7–34

UV: Jaiden Schrag 21, Natalie Crandall 14, Kora Johnson 4.

OX: Ava Benjamin 11, Emily Holbert 8, Jocie Finch 4, Taegan Manwarren 3, Margaret Rovente 3, Raya Warner 3, Lizzy Knapp 2.

Three-pointers: UV 0, OX 3 (Benjamin)