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Oak Mountain was able to handle Chelsea in a county rivalry on Tuesday, Nov. 27, by a final score of 57-45. (Reporter photo/Keith McCoy)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor

CHELSEA – After a 1-2 run through the Bryant Bank Thanksgiving Classic, the Oak Mountain Eagles bounced back with a road win on Tuesday, Nov. 27, against county foe Chelsea by a final score of 57-45.

Chelsea (3-3), who started showing some promise during the break with a strong tournament performance, couldn’t get going early on, which eventually became the difference.

While the Hornets were held to just seven first-quarter points on three made field goals, the Eagles (6-3) came out of the gate soaring with about as dominant of a first quarter as you can have.

They knocked down four 3-pointers and posted 26 points in the period behind two of their leaders. Three of the four 3-pointers came from the shot of Kailey Rory who had nine points in the quarter, while Hannah Edwards had one of her best quarters of the last two years in the post with 12 points on six field goals.

Clara Fuller and Abi Brown added the other five points to give Oak Mountain an impressive 26-7 lead at the end of the quarter.

With some of those players on the bench in the second quarter, however, Chelsea was able to inch its way back into the game with its best period of the game.

Thanks to nine points from Presley Raines, including two 3-pointers, as well as three other scorers, the Hornets posted 16 points in the frame, while the defense more than cut in half Oak Mountain’s offensive production limiting the Eagles to 11 points in the frame.

At the half, Oak Mountain still held a double-digit lead at 13 points, 36-23, but Chelsea had regained some life.

Coming out of the locker room into the second half, it showed the Eagles talked about getting the ball back into the post as Edwards went to work again.

She hit four more field goals in the third quarter to post eight points and lead another double-digit period for Oak Mountain as a team.

Chelsea was able to tack on 11 points in the quarter, but with the Eagles scoring 12 themselves, the Hornets’ deficit got a little larger at 14, 48-34, heading to the final period.

They did give a strong effort in the final frame holding the Eagles to less than 10 points in a quarter for the first time in the game, while also scoring in double digits for the third consecutive quarter themselves, but it was only an 11-9 period for the Hornets which wasn’t enough to overcome the 14-point deficit in a 57-45 loss.

Edwards led the way scoring for Oak Mountain with a game-high 22 points, while Rory added 18 points herself thanks to four made 3-pointers. Brown added eight points for the Eagles.

Chelsea was led by 11 points from Rains.

Photos available at Shelbycountyphotos.com

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