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Kailey Rory, above, and Hannah Edwards both finished in double figures in each of the Eagles' first two games of the season, while new head coach Beth Parmer has the team off to a 1-1 start. (Reporter photo/Keith McCoy)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor

MCCALLA – Beth Parmer earned her chance to be Oak Mountain’s girls basketball coach after Allen McGowan left to take over the job at Birmingham Southern, and on Tuesday, Nov. 6, Parmer got her chance to lead the Eagles for the first time.

Now through two games, the Eagles sit at 1-1 after winning their opener in Parmer’s debut against Clay-Chalkville and then dropping a championship game in the McAdory Tip-Off tournament a day later against the host school.

The loss isn’t the focus of those first two games, however, as Oak Mountain was edged out by just 11 points to a title-contending McAdory team, but instead on the 21-point victory over the Cougars to open the season.

It was a strong opening effort to the 2018-19 season, as the Eagles had four scorers in double figures to pull off an impressive 59-38 win, thanks to a strong second-half surge.

Early on, it was a tight battle, but the Eagles were able to end a low-scoring first quarter with a run to take a 10-6 lead.

Clay-Chalkville outscored Oak Mountain in a more offensive second period, but the Cougars were unable to overtake the lead heading into the halftime break.

They did, however, tie the game at 21-21 thanks to a 15-11 run in the frame.

Seeing the points rack up in the second helped both teams come out in the third quarter with confidence on the offensive end of the floor.

It led to a combined 32 points, but the Eagles were able to get the upper hand in the period thanks to outscoring the Cougars 18-14, which not only gave them a 39-35 lead heading to the final quarter, but the momentum of not having to play catchup, while also having success offensively.

That led to a dominant fourth quarter on both ends of the floors.

Defensively, Oak Mountain held Clay-Chalkville to just three points in the final period, while that stellar defense also led to continued success on the offensive end with the Eagles’ best quarter of the night.

They went on to outscore the Cougars 20-3 in the quarter to pull off the 21-point, 59-38, win.

Kailey Rory and Hannah Edwards led the four double-figure scorers with 16 points each. Emily Cruce and Abi Brown went on to add 10 points apiece, as those four players accounted for 52 of the 59 points in the game.

The following night in the championship game, Oak Mountain found itself in a more difficult situation against McAdory.

The Yellow Jackets stormed out to an 18-11 first-quarter lead and took a 14-point, 38-24, lead into the half.

McAdory continued its success on both ends of the floor in the third quarter, extending its lead to 56-38.

Oak Mountain still battled in the final quarter, which led to a 20-point period, but the Yellow Jackets held off the comeback effort to win by a final of 69-58.

Rory led the Eagles again with 29 points, while Edwards added 17 points.

With a strong cast of returning players, this team should continue to grow and compete with some of the best in Class 7A this season.

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