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The Helena Huskies had to work for it, but they held off a fierce third-quarter rally from Calera to secure the win at home. (For the Reporter/Jeremy Raines)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HELENA – The Helena Huskies kept their solid start to the season going with a 52-39 win over the Calera Eagles at home on Tuesday, Nov. 14.

Both teams found moments of success, but in the end, Helena survived a great comeback effort by Calera and came out on top to earn another win under first-year head coach Lake Graham.

Deep baskets by Mallory Rhodes and Isabel Heintz helped Helena establish the tone with an 11-point first quarter. The Huskies then took an 11-5 lead into the second quarter.

After the break, Hannah Satterfield scored eight of her ten points in the second quarter to power the Huskies to 16 more points before halftime.

However, Calera started to find some success from the field as well, and the Eagles were within striking distance down 27-16 at the half.

That was the opening that the Eagles needed to close the gap. Calera countered Helena with an 18-point third quarter while holding the Huskies to just eight points during that timeframe.

That meant Helena led just 35-34 going into the fourth, and the Huskies had to defend a one-point lead down the stretch.

Helena clamped down on defense and only allowed five points from Calera, and they pulled away on offense with six free throws and points from five different scorers.

In the end, Helena held on for a hard-fought 52-39 win in front of its home fans.

Amari Grant was a big key to Helena’s success, scoring 17 points and grabbing 12 rebounds to lead the Huskies in both categories.

In addition, Satterfield scored 10 points, Heintz had nine points and Rhodes scored seven while earning four assists.

The defense was another reason why Helena secured the victory, and Satterfield, Hentz and Rhodes played their part with 17 combined steals. Rhodes led the way with a staggering 10 steals, Satterfield had four and Heintz grabbed three to help earn the victory.