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The Chelsea girls basketball team picked up a win over rival Oak Mountain on Friday, Jan. 26 to finish area play with a victory on senior night. (For the Reporter/Cari Dean)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Publisher

CHELSEA – The Chelsea girls basketball team added one more dominant win to their resume to finish area play on Friday, Jan. 26 thanks to a strong performance against rival Oak Mountain.

The Hornets put together a 58-point night to down their rivals, celebrating seniors Bayley McCluney and Madeline Epperson in the process.

McCluney hit a first-quarter 3-pointer to get her senior night off to a fun start, while Epperson finished with five points in the win.

Those two left their impact, while Haley Trotter continued a special season with a 25-point night to help lead Chelsea to a 30-point win in the 58-28 game.

The opening quarter saw a slower start with both offenses trying to find a rhythm.

The Hornets got off to a dominant defensive start with one of their best efforts of the game by limiting Oak Mountain to five offensive points in the period. That strong effort defensively did just enough to give the offense some early life.

McCluney’s 3-pointer, four points from Trotter and four made free throws between Caroline Brown and Allie Scott helped Chelsea take an 11-5 lead at the end of one.

Then, in the second quarter, the offense started to heat up.

The Hornets got 10 points from Brown in the quarter on two 3-pointers and two additional field goals, while Trotter added three made field goals to post six more points.

They played a key role in helping Chelsea score 20 second-quarter points, which helped the team extend its lead from six points to 15 going into the halftime break.

That was enough cushion for the Hornets, who were consistent offensively in the second half and got better defensively.

They scored 14 and 13 offensively between the final two quarters, while the defense bounced back from giving up double figures by giving up single digits in both the third and fourth quarters, including just two points in the final period.

That helped Chelsea close out the 58-28 victory to finish area play with a 4-2 record.

Trotter’s 25 were a game high and led Chelsea, while Brown added 12 points to also finish in double figures. A total of nine different players scored in the win for the Hornets.

Oak Mountain was led by Raegan Whitaker with 11 points in the loss.

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