By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

CHELSEA – The Chelsea Hornets kept their excellent start to the season going in dominant fashion with a 70-30 win over the Calera Eagles on Thursday, Nov. 16.

The 40-point victory came after a pair of impressive victories against the Vestavia Hills Rebels and Pelham Panthers and helped Chelsea start the season undefeated with a 5-0 record.

Chelsea’s defense came out firing in the first half, holding Calera to five points and grabbing six steals.

Haley Trotter scored eight points for Chelsea in the quarter to help the Hornets take a 21-5 lead into the second quarter.

Sadie Schwallie and Sydney Carroll both brought the hustle in the second quarter as Schwallie snatched three steals and Carroll had three steals and three rebounds in the quarter as well.

That gave Chelsea the opportunity to extend its lead, and it did so to go up 38-11 going into the halftime break.

In the third quarter, six different Hornets players scored in a solid 23-point effort. Carroll led the way with six points, and that let Chelsea extend its lead by 16 to 61-18.

From there, the Hornets used their commanding lead to cruise to victory, and Chelsea secured its fifth straight win to start the season.

In the 70-30 win, Trotter led all scorers with 18 points while also grabbing six rebounds and two steals. Caroline Brown had 14 points, five steals and two rebounds.

Carroll had 10 points, four steals and four rebounds, Allie Scott scored nine points and Schwallie had seven points and six steals.

Before that, Chelsea defeated Pelham 62-43 in another solid showing. Trotter scored 19 points and Olivia Pryor had 17 points in the win.

Chelsea also picked up a solid win over a local Class 7A foe with a 43-27 victory over Vestavia Hills. Schwallie led the Hornets with 12 points, Trotter scored 11 and Caroline Brown had nine.