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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

ALABASTER – The Chelsea Hornets continued their blazing start to the season by picking up three more wins in a local multi-team event.

Chelsea defeated the Thompson Warriors, Dora Bulldogs and Childersburg Tigers to secure a perfect 3-0 record at the Discover Shelby Thompson Thanksgiving Invitational.

In the first game of the event against Thompson on Saturday, Nov. 23, the teams were fairly evenly matched coming out of the gate, but the Hornets had the slight edge coming out of the quarter, taking a 10-9 lead thanks to a 3-pointer from Haley Trotter and three points from Olivia Pryor.

Both teams ramped up their scoring in the second quarter, but it was Trotter and Pryor who made the difference for Chelsea. Each player scored six points to add to their first-half totals as the Hornets increased their lead to 26-21 at halftime.

Pryor continued to pace the Hornets on both ends of the floor, scoring six points in the third quarter while adding on three steals to her two from the first half to keep Thompson at bay. The Warriors were limited from the field to just baskets from Nadya French in the third quarter.

Chelsea took a 39-28 lead into the fourth.

From there, the Hornets continued to pull away as Trotter, Pryor, Caroline Brown and Lyric Landers combined for 23 points in the fourth quarter, sealing the 62-34 win over Class 7A Thompson.

Pryor led Chelsea with 21 points, eight steals and three rebounds. Trotter posted 18 points, four rebounds and three steals, Brown secured eight points, three steals and two rebounds and Landers finished with five points and a pair of rebounds. Kamryn Hudson also had four points and three rebounds.

After Pryor took command of the offense in the first game of the tournament, Brown did a lot for the Hornets in their Monday, Nov. 25 showdown against Dora.

She wasted no time getting into double figures, scoring 10 points in the first quarter alone as Chelsea hung 19 points on the Bulldogs in the opening eight minutes.

Once again though, the defense led the way for the Hornets as they held Dora scoreless in the opening quarter.

The Bulldogs found the scoreboard in the second quarter and began chipping into Chelsea’s 19-0 lead, but a strong team-wide offensive effort led by seven points from Hudson extended the Hornets’ halftime lead to 39-10.

Brown passed the 20-point threshold in the third quarter while Hudson once again chipped in multiple field goals and five total Chelsea players found the scoresheet during the quarter.

With a 57-22 lead going into the fourth quarter, the Hornets took their foot off the gas and saw out the 24-point victory.

Brown finished with a team-high 21 points and three rebounds, Hudson had 11 points and five rebounds and Pryor scored 10 points. Chelsea was active on the boards too, with Sydney Carroll grabbing seven rebounds and Schwallie securing five rebounds.

The Hornets defense led the way in their final game of the event on Tuesday, Nov. 26 against Childersburg.

After a balanced offensive effort from Chelsea allowed the team to hit double figures in the first quarter, the Tigers scored just five points in the opening quarter and then six in the second quarter.

That paved the way for the Hornets to pull away with a 20-point second quarter, using multiple baskets from Pryor, Brown and Hudson to establish a commanding 34-11 lead at the half.

The defensive intensity only ramped up in the third quarter as Chelsea allowed just two points in the third. Pryor continued to pace the offense and reached double figures while helping her team extend the lead by 10 to 46-13 at the end of the third quarter.

The Hornets cruised there to a 33-point win to finish their undefeated run through the tournament.

Pryor led Chelsea with 14 points and a pair of rebounds and steals. Brown finished with 12 points and five rebounds and Trotter and Hudson each scored 10 points. Trotter added six rebounds and three steals to her total and Hudson had five rebounds. In addition, Sadie Schwallie earned six points and three rebounds.

The Hornets will take advantage of a lengthy break before returning on Friday, Dec. 6 at 5:30 p.m. when they travel to Oak Mountain.