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By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

PELHAM – The Chelsea Hornets’ impressive regular season continued with a milestone win over the Pelham Panthers on the road on Friday, Jan. 17. Chelsea won 62-38, as the Hornets used a potent offense and tight defense to beat Pelham for the second time in two weeks.

The Chelsea win clinched the regular season title for the Hornets, and gives them the right to host the upcoming area tournament.

Haley Trotter was the star of the game for Chelsea, shooting her number as No. 23 scored 23 points for the Hornets. Joining her in double figures were Olivia Pryor with 13 and Kamryn Hudson with 10 points.

Tee King continued her storied Pelham career with another great night, scoring 20 points. However, King had little help throughout the game as no other Panther scored more than eight points.

The first quarter of the game was tight. The Hornets jumped out to a 4-0 lead behind great defense and breakaway layups. The theme of Chelsea and Pelham’s previous matchup was the Hornets’ ability to force turnovers, and that continued Friday night.

Pelham, to its credit, was able to break Chelsea’s press early and often. However, the Hornets jumped out to an 11-4 lead behind an and-1 bucket from Juliann Bass and a corner 3 from Olivia Pryor.

The Panthers then proceeded to go on a 5-1 run to close the quarter. Taylor Hollingsworth hit a step-back corner 3 to make it 12-7, with Tee King scoring a floater the following possession to make it 12-9 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter saw Chelsea pull away from Pelham, outscoring the Panthers 27-7 to have a 39-16 lead at half. The Hornets started the quarter on a 7-0 run and never looked back. They capitalized on every Pelham mistake, wreaking havoc with plenty of turnovers and making their open shots.

Highlights from the half included a four-point play for Chelsea’s Caroline Brown that gave the Hornets a 32-12 lead with 2:16 left in the quarter. Tee King tried to put Pelham on her back, taking plenty of forced, contested shots. They didn’t fall, causing Chelsea to extend its lead to 23 at halftime.

The third quarter was a bit closer, but the Hornets still outscored the Panthers 18-10. Chelsea head coach Jason Harlow created plenty of great set plays to get his players open, leading to high-percentage opportunities for the Hornets.

Pelham outscored Chelsea 12-5 in the final period, but by this point, the game was well in hand for the Hornets.

Trotter was a menace all night on both ends of the floor for Chelsea. Her paint presence eliminated the normally potent Hannah Bankston from the game, and she converted plenty of open looks offensively.

King played admirably well for Pelham, but the lack of scoring options outside of her proved to be the Panthers’ doom.

Pelham has a quick turnaround for their next contest, as they will face Hewitt-Trussville on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 11 a.m. at A.H. Parker High School. The Hornets, meanwhile will face Neshoba Central on Monday, Jan. 20 at 1 p.m. at Brookwood High School.