Chelsea splits pair of games at Athens Border War

Published 3:39 pm Monday, December 30, 2024

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By TYLER RALEY | Staff Writer

ATHENS – While the weekend’s events did not turn out to be all they had hoped for, the Chelsea Hornets split a pair of games at the Athens Border War at Athens High School.

Chelsea came out of the two-day event with a complete 51-33 victory over the Oxford Yellow Jackets on Saturday, Dec. 28 thanks to major offensive showings in the middle two quarters.

The first game turned out to be the exact opposite of a blowout however, as the Hornets dropped a tightly contested game to the Hartselle Tigers 39-38 on Friday, Dec. 27.

The first quarter of Chelsea’s time in Athens saw them jump out to an early lead, almost entirely due to the play of Caroline Brown. Brown put up 14 of the team’s 16 points in the quarter, making her mark early on with the addition of a rebound and a pair of steals.

The second quarter saw a turn in momentum with Hartselle running the floor off the hand of Hannah Burks, who dropped 11 of the team’s 13 points in the period. That helped the Tigers build a 23-19 lead heading into the break.

A defensive battle ensued in the third quarter, as neither team hit double digits for the quarter. Three players got onto the scoreboard for the Hornets to put up a total of nine points, trimming the deficit to three heading into the fourth at 31-28.

The final minutes is where Chelsea star Haley Trotter turned things into high gear, single-handedly running the fourth quarter for her team and putting up 10 points and two rebounds.

Unfortunately for the Hornets, her efforts came up just short as Hartselle scored eight points in the last period to just outpace them with a 39-38 victory.

Brown and Trotter combined for 34 of the team’s points with 19 and 15, respectively. Brown put up three steals and one rebound on the day, while Trotter added on eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

Chelsea shook the devastating loss off its back and returned to Athens the next day with fresh mind, which helped it jump out to a solid start against Oxford. The Hornets used a trio of two-point baskets from Trotter along with a 3-ball from Allie Scott to outdo the Yellow Jackets in the first quarter, taking a 14-13 lead into the second.

The offensive burst continued on from there as Trotter knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, while also getting help with four points from Kamryn Hudson in the midst of another 14-point quarter. As a result, Chelsea took a 28-16 advantage to halftime.

The third quarter was led by a triumphant defensive surge. On top of the 13 points that the team scored, the Hornets pulled down seven rebounds, recorded six steals and posted a block. All of those kept Oxford limited to five points in those eight minutes, making it a 41-21 game entering the final period.

The fourth quarter saw Chelsea coast to the buzzer, with points coming from five different players, including Trotter, Hudson, Brown, Sydney Carroll and Lemmie Floyd, totaling 10 points to finish things off for the 18-point win.

Trotter led all scorers with 19 points on the day. Brown posted seven with Hudson’s six, while Carroll, Sadie Schwallie and Olivia Pryor recorded four each.

Following their trip to Athens, the Hornets are now 11-7 on the year and are set to play one more game in 2024 against the Northridge Jaguars on Monday, Dec. 30 at Northridge High School.