By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

HELENA – In a game where points were tough to come by, the Helena Huskies girls’ basketball team found a way to earn tough points at the free throw line to edge Calera 34-31 to open area play with a win on Tuesday, Jan. 8.

The Huskies distributed the basketball well offensively which led to a 23-18 halftime lead.

Offensively Helena was led by Montana Harris and Autumn Edmonds who each finished with eight points while Chloe Van Kovering finished as the second leading scorer with seven points.

Helena head coach Alan Skinner acknowledged Calera’s athleticism and how it affected the Huskies throughout the game, but gave praise for his team’s ability to get to the foul line.

“Defensively they did some things that gave us trouble where we’re not used to having somebody break our press that easily and trying to make the adjustments to it it makes it tough,” Skinner said. “They’re athletic and they’ve got guards that are fast and long and that’s something that gives us trouble but we were where we needed to be for the most part. We didn’t shoot the ball that great but we got to the free throw line 21 times and it was a big win and first win in the area. We’ll take it.”

Helena had a rough third quarter scoring just one point that came from a Julia Hensley made free throw. Calera outscored the Huskies 9-1 in the quarter to take a 27-24 lead going to the final period.

In the fourth quarter, Edmonds stepped up big for Helena as she scored six of her eight points in the final eight minutes. Harris also hit a timely 3-pointer that helped the Huskies outscore the Eagles 10-4 in final quarter.

After Hensley made a free throw with 3.1 seconds left to extend Helena’s lead to 34-31, Calera was unable to advance the ball up the court to attempt a game-tying three as the Huskies came away with the close win.

Helena advanced to 1-0 in area play and will take on area rival Pelham in a big home game on Friday, Jan. 11.