Oak Mountain came out late to beat Spain Park, with Whitaker and Kester scoring 14 points.
Published on Saturday, January 20, 2024 at 1:09 AM
- Oak Mountain capitalized on a 14-point night from Regan Whitaker and Caroline Kester to hold off multiple rallies from Spain Park and earn a 14-point area win. (File)
Andrew Simonson Sports Editor
Hoover – The Oak Mountain Eagles held off the Spain Park Jaguars and won 46-32 on Friday, January 19th at Spain Park High School in what many expect from this rivalry. I got it.
Eva Leonard got the Jags off to a strong start early, hitting a 3-pointer from both sides with the first basket of the game and following it up with another shortly after.
This gave Spain Park a 5-0 lead, but the tide turned in Oak Mountain’s favor just about halfway through the fourth quarter.
Ella Holt hit a 3-pointer to put the Eagles ahead and Elizabeth Butler hit a 3-pointer to take the lead. Then, as the first quarter buzzer sounded, Caroline Kester sank Oak Mountain’s third 3 of the quarter to extend the lead to 9-6.
Spain Park’s Teagan Huey cut the deficit to just one point a minute and a half into the second quarter, but that would be as close as the Jags would get before halftime.
The Eagles increased their lead to eight points as the quarter wore on, and a field goal by Leonard and free throws by Tori Flournoy brought Spain Park within six points, but Oak Mountain still held a two-possession lead at 16-10. He returned to the locker room with an advantage. .
Riding the momentum from halftime, the Jags scored 10 points in the first 4 1/2 minutes of the third game to cut the lead to 22-20.
But just when it looked like Spain Park would regain the lead, Regan Whitaker got a basket and a foul, pushing the Eagles’ lead back to five points.
Oak Mountain pulled away from there to end the third set, capped off by Kester’s 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to give the Eagles a 34-24 lead at the end of the quarter.
Oak Mountain increased its lead to 12 points in the opening minutes of the fourth, but Spain Park cut the lead to seven on Teagan Huey’s and-one.
Moments later, Holt hit a 3-pointer to restore the double-digit advantage, and the Eagles held the Jags at the free throw line for a 14-point victory.
For Oak Mountain, Whittaker and Kester tied for a game-high 14 points. Holt also added 11 points and Butler added five points.
Leonard led Spain Park with 11 points, followed by Huey with 9 points.
Due to winter weather conditions earlier this week, Oak Mountain has had to change its schedule and will now face the McAdory Yellow Jackets on Saturday, January 20th. Tipoff will be held at Oak Mountain High School at 6:15 p.m.
Spain Park will next face a top-10 Chelsea team away on Tuesday 23rd January at 5.30pm.