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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

BROOKWOOD – The Chelsea Hornets were in dominant form on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as they blew past Mississippi’s Neshoba Central Rockets to extend their win streak to five in a row.

Chelsea defeated Neshoba Central 66-41 on Monday, Jan. 20 at Brookwood High School as part of the Brookwood MLK Day Classic, and it did so thanks to a massive performance from one of its biggest stars.

Fresh off earning the 1,000th rebound of her career, Haley Trotter dropped 33 points to earn Player of the Game honors from the showcase and added six rebounds, five steals and four blocks to her stat line in the double-digit win.

Trotter got to work early, scoring 12 points in the opening quarter as she hit her first three baskets inside the arc before ending the quarter with a pair of 3-pointers. Caroline Brown added two field goals as the Hornets got out to an 18-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Trotter and Brown continued to fuel Chelsea on both sides of the ball. Trotter added 10 points along with three steals on the defensive end while Brown scored nine points, including a 4-for-4 stretch from the free throw line.

Juliann Bass and Olivia Pryor each chipped in baskets to give the Hornets 24 points for the second quarter and increase the lead to 42-18 at the halftime break.

The offensive onslaught continued in the third quarter thanks to eight points from Trotter along with five points from Sadie Schwallie to go with her two from the first quarter and four more from Pryor.

Despite a pair of Rockets 3-pointers, the Chelsea defense continued to keep Neshoba Central at bay and allowed it to go into the fourth with a 58-30 lead.

From there, the Hornets cruised to a 25-point victory to keep their winning ways going.

In addition to Trotter’s 30-point afternoon, Brown scored 13 points, Schwallie earned seven points and two steals, Pryor had six points and four rebounds and Kamryn Hudson finished with four points and three rebounds. In addition, Sydney Carroll contributed with four rebounds.

The No. 7 Hornets improved to 18-8 on the season. They also have a 5-0 area record and will look to finish a perfect run through area play on Friday, Jan. 24 at 5:30 p.m. for their senior night game against the Spain Park Jaguars.