Chelsea Girls Win Two
By Mary Childs

The Chelsea Lady Devils made a second half comeback against Whitcomb Wednesday, Dec. 27 to come home with the win, 37-34.

The Whitcomb Hornets jumped out to an early lead as Chelsea had few shooting opportunities and was unable to find their rhythm. The teams broke for the half with Whitcomb leading 16-11.

Down by five points, Chelsea played with more intensity in the third quarter. Jill Cray picked up the game underneath as she dominated the boards. Going into the fourth quarter both teams were in foul trouble, meaning overtime was not an option for the Lady Devils. Chelsea played their running game and before long took the lead from Whitcomb. Chelsea outscored the Whitcomb Hornets in the second half to come away with a 37-34 win.

Cray and Robyn Kennedy were Chelsea’s high scorers with 10 points each.

Chelsea /Blue Mountain

The Chelsea Lady Devils hosted the Blue Mountain Bucks and won in last Friday’s evenly matched game. Chelsea was pumped for the win for the Chelsea girls have not beaten BMU in three years.

The game proved to be an even match straight from the beginning, each team scoring one after the other. Blue Mountain took the lead into the second quarter, but Chelsea dominated after that. Chelsea defenders Lindsey Smith and Samantha Bonasera applied key pressure to BMU’s Brooke Robinson, making it hard for BMU to run their offense. Solid defense from the entire Chelsea team held Blue Mountain to three points in the second quarter leading Chelsea into the half ahead by four.

In the third quarter Blue Mountain began to make a comeback, but Chelsea was able to keep their four-point lead into the fourth. The pressure was on as turnovers, steals and fouls paced the game. Every time the Red Devils pulled farther ahead, BMU would close the gap. Several times the game was tied up, but not for long. Up by two Chelsea continued to pressure the ball. Morgan Wadkins intensity drove the team, as she was a defensive threat on rebounds and an offensive threat with her sharp shooting.

It was late in the fourth quarter that Wadkins took a hard hit to the shoulder to put her out of the game. Hiedi Hatch stepped in to take her foul shots as both teams were in double bonus. Hatch put in a clutch foul shot that helped Chelsea come away with the 37-35 win. It was bitter sweet as Chelsea beat BMU for the first time in three years, but also suffered the temporary loss of a key player.

Cray was Chelsea’s high scorer with 14 points and Wadkins tallied 8 points before leaving the game. Smith and Kennedy also contributed 6 points each.

Chelsea improves to 3-1 and will travel to Sharon Academy for their next game.

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