1 of 16

By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

HELENA–The Helena Lady Huskies almost overcame a 16-point deficit in the final quarter of play against the Mountain Brooks Lady Spartans in what made for an interesting final eight minutes, but in the end, Mountain Brook hung on to win 47-43 on Nov. 15.

Helena got off to a nice start in the season home opener as both teams had trouble knocking down shots in the opening quarter but it was the Lady Huskies who led 9-6 after Jordan Jones drained a midrange shot at the buzzer to end the first quarter.

The second quarter was a different story for the Lady Huskies as Mountain Brook went on a 20-4 run to take a 26-13 lead at halftime. The Lady Spartans defense stifled Helena on offense to during the run.

Still trailing by 16 heading to the final quarter, Helena finally came alive and made Mountain Brook work for every point to preserve the 4-point victory.

Near the end of the game, Helena got a steal that led to a Jones made layup and a foul. With the made free throw the Lady Huskies trailed 43-39 with 1:34 to go.

Mountain Brook made some key free throws down the stretch and held on for the 47-43 win.

Jones led all scorers with 24 points and Mountain Brook saw 10 different players score points in the victory.

Helena head coach Alan Skinner said the biggest difference he saw in his team in the fourth quarter was the intensity level.

“That was something in the locker room after the game we talked about,” said Skinner. “We waited too late in the game to pick it up and that’s one of those things in the first few games of the year you don’t do. I mean, that’s not a bad team at all we just played. We’ll take it from here, it’s game two and we have a lot of good stuff that we need to fix but we also did a lot of good things also.”

Helena is now 1-1 on the season and will play on the road against Vestavia on Thursday, Nov. 17.

More Helena Reporter

Inaugural Shelby County Schools Duals Tournament set for Nov. 16

Youth Leadership Shelby County Class of 2025 kicks off year at opening retreat

Helena hungry for more after first Final Four appearance

Chamber to host 29th annual prayer breakfast