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Chelsea bounced back from a season-opening loss with a strong 15-point win against Clay-Chalkville in its second game of the 2020-2021 season. (For the Reporter/Cari Dean)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor

CHELSEA – Chelsea’s opener to the new basketball season didn’t go as expected during a physical 49-46 loss Minor on Thursday, Nov. 5, but expected to be a strong contender this season, the Hornets bounced back on Tuesday, Nov. 11, with a strong performance against Clay-Chalkville.

Chelsea held the Cougars to six points or less in the first three quarters and didn’t allow more than 11 points in any quarter of the game, as the daunting defense we expected to see coming into the season came ready to play and led to a 41-26 victory.

That combined with a steady offensive performance was more than enough to pull away for the 15-point victory.

Mackenzie Titus’s performance was key in the victory thanks to her consistency from the free throw line. She not only led the team in scoring with 15 points, but went 9-12 from the free throw line.

In the first quarter alone, she dropped eight points with two field goals and went 4-6 from the line to help propel an 11-point quarter for the Hornets.

And defensively, Chelsea opened with its best quarter of the game, giving up just four points on two made field goals, which helped the Hornets jump out to an early 11-4 advantage.

Chelsea followed that up with its best offensive quarter of the game thanks to 3-pointers from Sydney Schwallie and Ellen Fleming to help the team score 12 more points in the period.

That combined with another strong defensive effort of allowing just six points on one field goal sent Chelsea into the half with a 23-10 lead.

And not much changed coming out of the break, as the Cougars struggled to find any offensive rhythm.

Chelsea had its slowest offensive quarter of the game, but the team’s defense was more than enough to help the Hornets not only maintain the lead but continue to extend it.

The Hornets allowed five points on two field goals, while they put up eight points themselves behind four more from Fleming, which helped them extend the lead to 16 points going into the final period.

Clay-Chalkville had its best frame of the game in the fourth quarter with four made field goals and a 3-4 mark at the free throw line, but the Hornets went 9-14 from the free throw line themselves to ice the game.

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