By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

CALERA – The Calera Eagles continued their impressive turnaround season with a convincing home win over the visiting Chilton County Tigers on Monday, Feb. 3.

Coach Tanjanik Munford’s team went 6-25 a year ago and is now 17-11 with a chance to make more noise in the playoffs after the 73-26 win, which puts Calera in the area finals.

The game saw the Eagles jump all over the Tigers early, grabbing a 25-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Rekenzie Smith scored eight of her 10 points in the first, and Chilton County could not solve Calera’s tough defense.

The second was a bit closer, but Calera outscored the Tigers 16-8 to head to half up 41-15. Eight different players for the Eagles scored in the second as the offense for Calera continued to be balanced while the defense continued to torment Chilton County.

The third saw another barrage from the Eagles, this time to the tune of a 20-9 scoring margin. Mia Wade scored nine of her 16 points in the penultimate quarter, while the Tigers saw Lily Benson try to keep her team’s hopes alive with two 3-pointers.

The fourth saw more of the same. Calera outscored Chilton County 12-2, with many bench players seeing action for the Eagles with the win firmly in hand.

Three different players scored in double figures for Calera. Wade had 16 points, while Smith and Kora Johnson each had 10 points. Ten different players scored for the Eagles, displaying a prolific offense that is peaking at the right time in the playoffs.

For Chilton County, Benson was the lone double-figure scorer with 10 for the Tigers. No other player scored more than six in the game.

With the win over the Tigers, Calera advances to the Class 6A Area 5 finals on Wednesday Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. at Benjamin Russell and the sub-regionals on Friday, Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. against either Chelsea or Helena.