The Wildcats defeated the Oscoda Owls with a final score of 61-53 for their third straight win.

Alpena’s combination of great defense along with the ability to score baskets when it mattered most led the Wildcats to victory.

This win was even more meaningful for Alpena (8-12) as it honored its teachers through Teacher Appreciation Night.

“We’re realizing that when we go inside, our outside game opens up. It’s taken a lot of practice and games to figure that out, but now that we have, we’re a much better team,” Alpena coach Laura Dubey said.

News Photo by Owen Kinzey Alpena girls basketball players are pictured with their favorite Alpena High teachers during Teacher Appreciation Night on Monday.

Alpena began the game by grabbing the early lead with a quick layup from Kiera Prue.

Immediately after Prue’s basket, the Owls answered right back with a three from Luella Whipkey. Three-point shooting was almost the entire offense for the Owls and it worked well early on. Four threes were made in the first quarter to give Oscoda the 12-7 lead after eight minutes.

The Wildcats came out of the second quarter with a much better intensity that paved the way for much better defense.

Oscoda was held scoreless for nearly nine minutes and even got into foul trouble just two minutes into the quarter. With the Owls in foul trouble, Alpena received some easy points through free throws.

For the first time since the beginning of the game, the Wildcats regained the lead at 14-12 with 4:31 left in the quarter.

Oscoda narrowly took the lead back at the end of the quarter, which put the Owls up 22-21 over the Wildcats going into the half.

Alpena came out of the break dominating down low offensively and was almost perfect on its rebounding. Prue was the main force in the paint that later opened up many three-point opportunities for the Wildcats.

At the end of the third quarter, Alpena went on a massive 7-0 run that included a great finish by Reese Wisniewski and a three from Faith Dragiewicz.

Going into the fourth quarter, the Wildcats extended its six-point lead even further. A three from Avery Dubey and Reaghan Fitzpatrick put Alpena up 12 points for the biggest lead of the game.

The Wildcats held on to the lead after a pair of clutch free throws from Wisniewski and Dragiewicz ended the game.

“We’re really starting to see that everyone on this team can really score the basketball. It’s not just a two-person offense and now that we trust each other better, we are really starting to succeed,” Dubey said.

Leading the Wildcats in scoring was Prue with 19 points. Wisniewski was the team’s second-leading scorer with 15 points.

The Owls were led by Mia Whipkey who scored 19 points. Oscoda’s second-leading scorers were Kyden Ehle and Ava Gooch both finishing with nine points.

Alpena plays Gaylord on Friday.