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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HELENA – With two wins down and two area games to go, the Briarwood Christian Lions are now in the pole position for the top seed in the area after beating the Helena Huskies 34-18 on Tuesday, Jan. 9 at Helena High School.

Briarwood’s offense got going early with five points from Emma Kerley and four from Mary Beth Dicen in the first quarter.

On the other end of the floor, Mallory Rhodes hit a pair of three-pointers and scored eight points to help the Huskies keep pace with the Lions.

After leading 11-8 going into the second quarter, Briarwood’s defense kicked into gear and helped it take a double-digit lead.

The Lions held Helena to just three points in the second quarter. Briarwood took advantage and had another 11-point quarter to lead 22-11 at the halftime break.

After the break, the Huskies’ defense improved coming out of the locker room and not only held the Lions to five points in the third, but allowed the offense to outscore them and cut the deficit to 10.

However, Briarwood’s defense struck back in the fourth and only surrendered one point in the last eight minutes of the game.

Dicen hit another pair of three-pointers to capitalize on her team’s defense holding Helena scoreless from the field and close out the 16-point victory.

Dicen led the way with 16 points off four three-pointers and four steals for Briarwood. Kerley added seven points, seven rebounds and four assists, Baker had five points, four steals and four rebounds and Clara Crawford scored four points and recorded seven rebounds.

For Helena, Rhodes led the team with 10 points.

Briarwood will look for its third straight win against Moody in a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day showcase at Leeds High School on Monday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m.

Helena will look for its first area win against Pelham on Friday, Jan. 12 at 6 p.m. at Pelham High School.