By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

HELENA–A solid final quarter that saw the Lady Huskies outscore Chelsea 25-17 helped Helena lock up the Class 6A Area 8 Championship on Friday, Feb. 10 defeating the Lady Hornets 60-51 to finish with an unblemished record in area play on the season.

Through the first three quarters, it seemed as though the game was heading in the same direction when the two teams last met on Jan. 27, as Helena needed some last second heroics to defeat Chelsea in overtime.

On Feb. 10, Helena led by just one point heading into the final quarter with a 35-34 lead and it looked as though a close finish would be in store to determine the area champion.

However, senior Mekhi Mayfield came up huge for the Huskies in the fourth quarter scoring 10 of her 17 points in the final eight minutes and Helena turned up the intensity on defense to capture a double-digit victory.

The Lady Huskies had a tough time keeping Michaella Edwards from scoring as she finished with 27 points for Chelsea to lead all scorers.

Helena head coach Alan Skinner was pleased with the fourth quarter and acknowledged that it is tough to beat a team three times in one season.

“Most people think that if you play a team that you’ve beat twice and you’re playing them for the third time they’re like ‘oh you’ve already beaten them you should win again,’” Skinner said. “Well that is the furthest from the truth. Especially in this part of the season you do everything one game at a time.”

Jordan Jones led Helena with 18 points in the game and in the first year competing in Class 6A competition, the Lady Huskies went undefeated in area play to capture the title.

“It starts with them,” Skinner said of his players. “They came out of last season and they made a commitment that we’re not just going to be OK with doing a little bit here and a little bit there. We’re going to go out there and really try to compete and be good. We saw our area and knew who we were going to be playing and we felt like we could go in and do some really good things.”

With the win, Helena advanced to the Class 6A Sub-Regional round where they will face Paul Bryant on Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. at Helena High School.

Chelsea also advanced to the Sub-Regional round and will travel to face Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa on Feb. 13.