Second-ranked Sparkman broke an early tie and never looked back in its 61-41 victory over No. 9 Chelsea in Wednesday’s Class 7A Northeast Regional semifinal at Jacksonville State’s Pete Mathews Coliseum.

Sparkman (24-8) opened the game with a 5-1 lead, by way of junior Jalei O’Neal, but Chelsea tied the game at 8-all midway through the period. Kennedy Langham scored seven of Sparkman’s nine points to close out the first quarter with a 17-13 lead.

“We kept our composure,” Langham said. “We came in knowing what we were supposed to do to win and we executed.”

The Senators got a 3-pointer from Langham at the start of the second period, but the Hornets pulled within a single bucket on a 7-3 run powered by Haley Trotter and Sophia Brown.

Hannah Horton ended the Chelsea scoring run on a 3-pointer with 5:27 remaining in the first half and the Senators ended the opening stanza with a 14-4 run to take a double-digit lead into the halftime break.

Chelsea’s Brown got the second half started with a 3-pointer, cutting the Sparkman lead below 10 points, and ended an 8-0 run by the Senators with another 3-pointer at the 3:35 mark of the period. Despite the timely shooting, the Hornets never trimmed the deficit below double-digits again as Sparkman jumped out to a 19-point lead in the final frame.

The Senators closed out the game with a 10-3 run after allowing 6 straight points from the Hornets midway through the period.

Chelsea (23-9) failed to make the regional final in its first season in Class 7A after making consecutive appearances the last two Class 6A tournaments.

Star of the Game: Langham. The senior guard finished with a game-high 26 points on 10-for-20 shooting. She also had five assists and a steal.

Did you know? Sparkman advances to its first regional final since 2019, a 73-45 loss to Hoover, and seeks its first appearance in the state tournament since 2018. The Senators won state titles in 2002, 2003 and 2007.

Stat sheet: Sparkman – The Senators shot 49 percent overall, 26.1 percent from the beyond arc, and forced 17 turnovers that resulted in 18 points. O’Neal had 11 points, six rebounds and three steals, followed by Jamya Griffin with eight points. Laryn Scott contributed a team-high eight rebounds. Chelsea – The Hornets were held to 37.5 percent from the field and 28.6 percent on 3-pointers,. but held a plus-11 advantage in rebounding. Trotter produced a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Brown finished with 10 points and five rebounds. Moore had eight points and five rebounds.

Coachspeak: “Definitely not the end goal. We do have several goals left to maintain. Keeping them focused. This is our program and none of these kids have had a chance to win this first game in the regionals. We’ll take it game-by-game and day-by-day. We’ll cherish each moment as it comes.” — Sparkman’s Jarvis Wilson

“For us, we ran into a buzz-saw a couple different times when they went to that 1-3-1. We struggled with it. Struggled to rebound the way we would have liked. What’s been the trend with these players and the character they have, they played extremely hard today and I’m proud of my seven seniors for what they’ve been able to accomplish at Chelsea the last four years.” — Chelsea’s Jason Harlow

What’s next? Sparkman advances to the Northeast Regional final, where they’ll face either Hewitt-Trussville or Huntsville, Tuesday, Feb. 21, at Jacksonville State’s Pete Mathews Coliseum.