Chelsea pinks out Clay-Chalkville in honor of Ingram family
Published 1:37 pm Friday, December 1, 2017
By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor
CHELSEA – Pink pom-poms were waved, pink shirts were worn and Chelsea poured in plenty of baskets in honor of Kristi Ingram on Thursday, Nov. 30, when the Hornets hosted a pink out against Clay-Chalkville on their home floor.
While the final score of 51-38 was dominant, it wasn’t the story at the forefront of the night as the Hornets paid tribute to a family that has done a lot for the Chelsea community, especially in the sports world.
Over the last few months the story of Kristi Ingram has been made public as her battle with cancer became tougher and tougher.
Her family and the community gathered around her for more support than any one person could imagine to help her positivity on many occasions. While she passed away on Friday, Nov. 24, it’s more evident than ever the impact she had on so many.
Throughout her battle, many youth-league, middle school and high school sports teams donned uniforms or hosted pink outs honoring the wife and mother of three.
With two of those three kids in Dawson and Kinley Ingram still being a part of the Chelsea school system and Sara Ingram having graduated from there, the schools continued their rally of support for the first time since her passing through the pink out of Clay-Chalkville.
Playing with a little extra boost, the Hornets (4-3) came out and dominated from start to finish in the game behind what head coach Nick Baumbaugh called one of the best performances he had seen in a long time.
It started out with a low-scoring first quarter that saw Chelsea grab a 10-6 advantage behind six of Daniel Washington’s 14 points as the junior had a solid night in the post.
The second quarter, however, is where the Hornets opened things up. Behind a strong defensive performance that limited the Cougars to just seven more points and seven different scorers on the offensive end, Chelsea had outscored Clay-Chalkville 19-7 to take a 29-13 lead into the half.
During the halftime break, Chelsea made a special presentation for the Ingram family as they honored them at half court with goody baskets and a picture of Derek Jeter with an inspirational quote at the bottom of the framed collectible.
After the presentation had ended, the Hornets got back to their dominating ways on the court. They posted 22 points in the third quarter behind eight different scorers.
For the third quarter in a row, Chelsea had scored in double figures, while Clay-Chalkville scored less than 10 points with eight. It led to the Hornets taking a 51-21 lead into the final quarter of play, which set up a running clock.
The Hornets were outscored 17-0 in the final period with their deep bench in the game and the Cougars still competing hard, but it didn’t change the outcome as Chelsea held on for the 51-38 win.
Chelsea had 10 players score in all as Washington was the team’s only double-figure scorer with his 14 thanks to the balanced attack.
It was a win for everybody involved, from the Ingram family getting the love and care it needs in a difficult time, to the Chelsea basketball team performing the best it has arguably in the last two seasons.
Photos available at Shelbycountyphotos.com