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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

CLANTON – After a tightly-fought first half, the Calera Eagles made an emphatic statement in the second half to walk away with a crucial area victory.

Calera defeated the Chilton County Tigers 63-38 on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at Chilton County High School to get to 1-1 in area play with its first win of the year in Class 6A, Area 5.

The victory also helped the Eagles back to track after they fell to the Pleasant Grove Spartans 71-37 on Jan. 7 and the Benjamin Russell Wildcats 50-37 on Jan. 9. Those losses followed a 48-15 win over Brookwood on Jan. 3 to start the 2025 calendar year.

Looking for a bounce-back performance in area play after losing the opener to Benjamin Russell, Calera went blow-for-blow with Chilton County in the first quarter, matching the hosts’ 12-point offensive output during that stretch.

Rekenzie Smith hit a pair of shots while Jakalynn Johnson, Mia Wade and Kora Johnson also scored in the opening quarter to leave the teams tied up at 12-12 ahead of the second quarter.

Maddie Green and Alanna McNutt-Austin helped push the Eagles in front during a low-scoring second quarter. The duo scored all of their team’s nine points in the quarter as Calera led 21-19 going into the halftime break.

Everything changed in the third quarter as the Eagles emerged from the locker room with a big offensive effort.

Jakalynn Johnson took over the game, scoring 11 points in the third quarter. Kora Johnson added four points to her total while Smith and Green also chipped in baskets during the third.

Calera’s defensive prowess carried over into the third quarter, allowing just seven points for the second-straight quarter. This time though, the Tigers could only score from the free throw line as they were held scoreless from the field.

That gave the Eagles a 42-26 lead ahead of the fourth quarter, and they only built off that lead in the remaining minutes of the game.

Calera outscored Chilton County 21-12 in the fourth quarter as Kora Johnson rounded out her night with eight more points, including a pair of 3-pointers. In all, seven different Eagles scored in the fourth quarter to finish out the 26-point victory in area play.

Jakalynn Johnson led Calera with 15 points while Kora Johnson joined her in double figures with 14 points. Smith and Green each scored eight points and McNutt-Austin earned seven points in the win.

The Eagles are now 13-11 overall and 1-1 in area play. They will take the rest of the week off ahead of their next matchup: an area rematch with the Benjamin Russell Wildcats at home on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 6 p.m. at Calera High School.