By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

PELHAM – For the second time this season, the Pelham Panthers came away with a big win over cross town rival Helena as a variety of players chipped in for the 52-36 win on Tuesday, Jan. 22 to complete the regular season sweep.

Led by Myriah Tate’s 14 points and a dominant fourth quarter, Pelham pulled away late to pick up its second win in area play as the area tournament is just a few weeks away.

The Panthers had one other player finish in double figures as Emma McKenney played well down low to finish with 10 points.

Overall, Pelham got contributions across the board as six players finished with at least five points in the win.

For Helena, the Huskies were battling as tough as possible while being down two starters in the game. Helena hung tough for three quarters until Pelham outscored them 14-5 in the final period.

Helena head coach Alan Skinner was proud of the way his team fought through tough circumstances.

“Down two starters and two of our leading scorers, I thought we really battled as a team and fought hard,” Skinner said. “We just ran out of gas in the second half. We are going to use the experience as growth for some of our babies and the experience they got going forward and try to be improved once we have everyone back 100 percent. All in all, I’m very proud of my girls and how they have handled the adversity we have faced the last few weeks.”

Brianna Wilson was the lone Husky to finish in double figures with 10 points.

With one more regular season area game to play, Pelham improved to 2-3 in area play, while Helena dropped to 1-4. Chelsea has locked up the chance to host the area tournament after improving to 5-0 in area play with its win over Calera on Jan. 22.