Last Tuesday, the RMA Varsity Girls’ and Boys’ basketball teams took the floor against Greenville’s Oakwood School. Both teams were in for a fight as the Oakwood girls were undefeated in conference and the Oakwood boys were second in conference, behind only RMA and Crossroads Christian.

The girls took the court first, knowing they were going to have their hands full with the sharpshooting backcourt Oakwood has to offer. After a slow start for Oakwood and a couple put-backs by Senior Allison Barnes, RMA found themselves up early. The lead did not last long thanks to the Junior point guard from Oakwood, who hit three 3-pointers in the first half. Although Oakwood was beginning to catch a rhythm, RMA was able to hang in the game, only down 19-16 at the half. RMA went into the half pleased with their performance thus far, but knew it was going to take a lot to stay in the game against one of the top teams in the state. As the teams came out in the second half, Oakwood’s physicality and skill was just too much for the Lady Eagles. While the final score was not pretty, it did not show the heart the Eagles played with. This is a positive step as they finish their conference play and hope to be the top 2-A team going into the CIC Conference Tournament.

After the girls hard-fought loss, the boys took the court in preparation for the 2015 conference championship rematch. Last year, the Eagles of RMA downed the Eagles of Oakwood in the Conference Championship, after a chippy game including multiple technicals and a number of hard fouls. RMA had a lot of pressure coming into the game, playing their first big-time conference game. After the tip, Oakwood jumped to a quick 5-0 lead, but the run was halted, and RMA climbed back into the game, thanks to Junior AJ Mitchell’s sharpshooting and Sophomore Sensation Elijah McCadden’s ability to drive and finish. RMA went into the half with close lead. In the second half, RMA tightened their dreaded 1-2-2 defense and forced Oakwood to play from the outside, in. The Eagles of RMA took a 10-point lead at one point in the fourth quarter, after the High-Low game between Seniors Brendan Acker and Kyle Holland accounted for 6 straight points, but after missed free throws and careless turnovers, Oakwood climbed back into the game. With 4 seconds left, RMA was up 2, with a chance to seal the game. After the first free throw was made, the second one rimmed out giving Oakwood a chance to tie. Oakwood called a timeout to draw up a play, but their half-court heave failed to go in, giving the Eagles of RMA the huge conference win 60-57.

Come out Tuesday, January 19 to watch the Girls Varsity team try and keep their conference record above .500 and fight for a top seed in the conference tournament, while the Boys Varsity team looks to take sole possession of 1st place in conference as they face off against the only other undefeated team in conference, Crossroads Christian.