By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

CALERA – The Chelsea Hornets started off their 2024-25 campaign strong with a 63-30 win over the Calera Eagles on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at Calera High School.

The county battle represented Calera’s fourth game of the past week as the Eagles looked to bounce back from back-to-back losses to Murphy and Pleasant Grove after a season-opening road win at Oak Mountain.

Chelsea, on the other hand, was playing its first game of the season and picked up right where it left off from a successful 2023-24 season.

Reigning Shelby County Player of the Year Haley Trotter came out of the gate strong on both ends of the floor, starting the game with five points, three rebounds and two steals in the first quarter.

Olivia Pryor added four points of her own as the Hornets scored 15 points in the opening quarter, making the most of their trademark strong defense leading the way early with just seven points allowed in the first.

With a 15-7 lead going into the second quarter, Chelsea’s offense hit its stride in the final eight minutes before the halftime break.

Seven different Hornets found the bottom of the basket as they combined for 24 points in the second quarter. Sadie Schwallie, Juliann Bass and Lemmie Floyd each scored a pair of field goals while Trotter had four points in addition to her continued hustle play around the court.

After Chelsea allowed just nine points on the other end of the floor, the visitors took a 39-16 lead into the locker room for halftime.

From there, the Hornets continued to stifle the Eagles and allowed the hosts to score just four points in the third quarter.

On the other end of the floor, Caroline Brown took over and scored nine of Chelsea’s 17 third-quarter points, giving her team a 56-20 lead at the end of the quarter.

The Hornets held on for the win from there, and while they were outscored 10-7 in the final quarter thanks to a pair of 3-pointers from JaKalyn Jones and Maddie Green, Chelsea still walked away with a 33-point victory.

Brown led both sides in scoring with 13 points along with two rebounds and two steals. Trotter came close to a triple-double with nine points, eight steals and seven rebounds to go with two rebounds.

Schwallie had seven points, three steals and two rebounds, joining Floyd as another seven-point scorer. Bass also scored six points in the first half to help the Hornets secure the win.

As for Calera, Green led the team with 10 points. Destiny Coates scored five points and Kora Johnson had four points.

Chelsea will have another county clash on its hands on Friday, Nov. 15 as it takes on Oak Mountain at 5:30 p.m. at home. That comes before a marquee matchup against the Hoover Buccaneers on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 3 p.m. at Priceville High School.

The Eagles will be back in action on Monday, Nov. 18 when they host Spain Park at 5 p.m.