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Chelsea's girls basketball team was able to clinch hosting the area tournament on Tuesday, Jan. 22, with a dominant win at Calera. (For the Reporter/Larry Dancy)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor 

CALERA – An unbelievable turn around for the Chelsea Hornets during the 2018-19 season got even better on Tuesday, Jan. 22, with a dominant 55-33 victory against Calera to remain perfect in area play.

By moving to 5-0 in area play, the Hornets have now clinched the regular-season area title and have earned the right to host the area tournament with only one area game left and all other area teams having at least two losses.

A big reason for that success on Tuesday night was the competitiveness defensively limiting the Eagles to less than 10 points in three of the four quarters, while the Hornets put up strong offensive numbers with three scorers finishing in double figures.

That strong play on both ends of the floor was on full display right out of the gate, as Chelsea posted 17 first quarter points and limited Calera to just seven points.

The Hornets (11-10, 5-0) limited the Eagles to just three made baskets, which allowed a lot of fast break opportunities for Chelsea in the period.

With all of those opportunities, Ellen Fleming was able to take advantage by posting six of her eight points in the game, while Jordan Parker posted five as well.

Those two were joined by three other scorers in the period as the Hornets jumped out to a commanding early lead of 17-7.

As if that wasn’t good enough, Chelsea kept the throttle down in the second quarter scoring 17 more points behind six from Parker and four from Mackenzie Titus off the bench.

The two leading scorers in the quarter were yet again joined by three other scorers to total the 17 points, while the defensive effort got even better.

This time around, the Hornets allowed just two field goals, both 3-pointers, for six total points—one less than the opening period.

With that strong effort, Chelsea had taken control of the game with a 34-13 lead at the halftime break.

Calera clearly made some adjustments during the break and came out a different team both defensively and offensively in the third quarter.

The offense went on to have its best period of the game posing 12 points, while the defense had flipped the script and held Chelsea to single digits at eight points.

While the Eagles had changed their effort, the four-point margin in the quarter wasn’t enough to make up the deficit, as they still went into the final quarter 42-25 needing to make up a lot of ground.

In the final quarter, Chelsea was able to get back to the successful ways of the first two quarters thanks in large part to Pressley Rains and Sydney Schwallie.

Rains posted six of her 10 points in the quarter, while Schwallie scored five of her 10 points in the quarter to help the Hornets outscore Calera 13-8 in the final quarter to pull off the 55-33 victory.

Chelsea was led by Parker with 17 points in the win, while Rains and Schwallie added their 10 points. Titus ended the night with eight points off the bench.

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