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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

CALERA – After Benjamin Russell clinched the regular season area title and a sub-regional spot the night before, the Calera Eagles knew they would face the Chilton County Tigers in the area semifinals, but they didn’t know whether they’d be going into that matchup with the momentum.

Calera did just that, defeating Chilton County 54-39 on Friday, Jan. 24 at Calera High School to sweep the season series between the two local foes and secure the No. 2 seed in Class 6A, Area 5.

The Eagles got the early jump on the Tigers as Jakaylyn Jones scored twice in the first quarter and her offense combined for 15 opening-quarter points across five different scorers.

Calera used that offensive effort to take a 15-6 lead into the second quarter, and the hosts only built off that lead from there.

After scoring a field goal in the first quarter, Emily Kayton knocked down a trio of 3-pointers in the second, leading the charge for another balanced offensive effort even as she took over from deep.

Chilton County continued to struggle from the offensive end and only hit two shots from the field and scored six points overall for the second-straight quarter. That gave the Eagles a 33-16 lead going into the halftime break.

With a commanding double-digit lead in its back pocket, Calera continued to remain in front even as the scoring pace dramatically slowed down in the third. Jones, Destiny Coates, Maddie Green and Rekenzie Smith each scored a basket but couldn’t get their team more than eight points total for the quarter.

However, the Tigers could only muster eight points of their own in response as the Eagles defense continued to dominate. As a result, Calera went into the fourth quarter the same way they did the third: up 17 points, this time with a 41-24 advantage.

The Eagles kept cruising from there as Jones closed out her scoring account with five points in the fourth and Olivia Jenkins joined her with a 3-pointer during the final minutes.

In the end, Calera walked away with the 15-point victory to take the season series 2-0.

Kayton led the Eagles with 12 points, but Jones wasn’t far behind her with 11 points. Jenkins and Green each scored five points and Smith, Coates, Zoey Moore and Destyni Grays finished with four points apiece.

Calera improved to 16-10 and 2-1 in area play with the win, and the Eagles will close out area play on Monday, Jan. 27 against the Benjamin Russell Wildcats at 6 p.m. at Calera High School. They will then host Oak Mountain on Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 6 p.m. to finish the regular season.