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The Chelsea Hornets picked up a dominant win against rival Oak Mountain on Tuesday, Feb. 7 to advance to the area tournament championship as well as the Sweet 16. (For the Reporter/Cari Dean)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor

TRUSSVILLE – The Chelsea Hornets kickstarted another postseason on Tuesday, Feb. 7 with a dominant effort against rival Oak Mountain to open the area tournament.

Taking on the Eagles at Hewitt-Trussville in the opening round of the tournament with the season on the line, Chelsea jumped out to a 16-0 lead and coasted from there en route to a 51-16 win.

With the victory, the Hornets advanced to the area tournament championship game against Hewitt-Trussville on Feb. 9, while they also cemented a spot as one of the state’s final 16 teams in the Regional tournament.

Early in the matchup, Chelsea was able to take control, using a 12-0 run in the opening quarter to quickly set the tone.

That carried into the second quarter, as the Hornets were able to extend their run to 16-0 out of the gate to put Oak Mountain in a deep hole early.

That quickly became too much to overcome for the Eagles.

Chelsea went on to lead by 20 at multiple points in the game going into the third quarter, and then, late in the third, they put together a 7-0 run to extend the lead to 39-12 going to the final quarter.

Oak Mountain only scored four more points in the fourth, while the Hornets put away their third double-digit win against the Eagles with 12 more points to cement the 35-point victory.

Chelsea was led by Madi Moore and Sophia Brown with 11 points each in the victory, while Haley Trotter and Sadie Schwallie joined Brown as members of the All-Area Team for their efforts during the regular season.

A top-10 team, the Hornets will hope to bring home an area championship in a top-10 battle with the Huskies, but nonetheless, their focus will quickly shift to an opportunity at a third consecutive trip to the Elite Eight.

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