One of the beauties of athletics is there are victories in a game even when the final scores says you lost.

Such was the case in Oak Harbor’s 69-39 loss to visiting Arlington in girls basketball Friday, Jan. 30.

When the Wildcats, who have won only two of 17 games, met the seventh-ranked and division leading Eagles (7-0, 15-2) earlier this season, they lost by 53 points.

The past two games, the Wildcats have cut deeply into the margin of defeat suffered during the first round of the league schedule. Prior to the latest Arlington loss, Oak Harbor lopped 30 points from the gap between the first and second Stanwood games.

“We played better,” Oak Harbor coach Jon Atkins said. “While it’s still not a win, we have come along way this season and have improved every game.

“We still need to improve the way we handle full court pressure, but we are really excited for the next two weeks.”

It was the full-court press that bother the Wildcats in Friday’s loss to Arlington.

The Eagles turned Oak Harbor mistakes into easy points while building a 22-4 first-quarter lead.

The Wildcats regrouped and had more success attacking the press in the second quarter, scoring 12 points and trailing 39-16 at the break.

Oak Harbor tallied 17 points in the third quarter, and then its defense sparkled in the fourth, limiting the high-scoring Eagles to only three points.

For the game, Janae Payne paced Oak Harbor with 11 points.

“J.P. Payne has put together two great games and has been putting in the extra work to improve her offensive game,” Atkins said.

Rashanna Graham and Hayley Lundstrom each scored six points, Bryn Langrock five, Montana Koslowski four, Deja Bunch four, Jinai Guzman two and AnnaBelle Whitefoot one.

Bunch also had four rebounds, and Julie Jansen recorded four blocks.

Jessica Ludwick led Arlington with 14 points, while Brittany DeNike and Emma Janousek had 10 each.

Oak Harbor (1-6, 2-15) entertains Marysville Getchell (2-5, 8-9) at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4.

(Oak Harbor’s Rashanna Graham, right, fights for a loose ball. Photo by Jim Waller.)