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By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor

CALERA – Thanks to 10 points in the first half and 10 more in the second half, Montana Harris put together a 20-point performance on Friday, Jan. 22, to help the Helena Huskies pick up a dominant area win against Calera.

The Huskies took advantage of Harris’ impressive performance and also had six players score six or more points to help total 68 points for the offense, while the defense limited the Eagles to 41 points for a 27-point victory.

With the win, the Huskies improved to 2-2 in area play and bounced back from back-to-back area losses to Pelham and Chilton County, making the final week of area play important for tournament seeding.

Helena was able to jump out to a quick advantage against the county foe on Friday night thanks to a balanced opening quarter featuring five scorers and a tight defensive performance.

The Huskies got six points from Kennedi Nobles in the period to help the team total 16, while the defense made a statement by giving up just five points on two made field goals.

Already up by 11 to start the second quarter, the Huskies had breathing room and forced Calera to dig out of an early hole.

The Eagles did what they needed to on the offensive end of the floor with 15 points thanks to three 3-pointers, but it still wasn’t enough to put a dent in the deficit due to Helena’s presence offensively.

The Huskies scored 17 more points in the game thanks to seven from Harris and a 7-9 mark from the free throw line for the team.

That allowed them to extend the lead by two more points to 33-20 going into the half.

Even though Calera had found a rhythm offensively in the second quarter, it became the Eagles’ best period of the game on that end, while Helena was just getting warmed up.

In the third quarter, Helena came out and put together a 21-point quarter behind eight more points from Harris and four each from Kya Gardner and Nobles.

With the defense bounce back to give up 10 points in the quarter, the Huskies extended their lead to 54-30 going to the fourth quarter.

Both teams earned trips to the free throw line in the final period, but neither found a rhythm, which prevented the Eagles from having any shot at a comeback.

Helena scored 16 more points to close out a strong offensive night, while the Eagles were held to 10 points or less for the third time in the game.

Harris’ 20 led the way for the Huskies, while Nobles added 12 in addition to Brianna Wilson and Gardner each scoring nine.