By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA–The Helena Lady Huskies basketball team got off to a winning start this season after a strong second half helped propel Helena to a 46-39 win over the Shelby County Lady Wildcats.

Jen Brown, one of Helena’s top players in the post got into foul trouble in the first half and the Lady Huskies struggled on the offensive side of the court in the first two quarters as Helena went into the locker room trailing Shelby County 17-15.

Helena head coach Alan Skinner said he was happy his team made the turnaround in the second half but also said the Lady Huskies made a lot of mistakes in the first game of the season.

“We made every mistake you could make in the first game you know, we had our execution errors and it’s tough playing a team like Shelby County that they’re going to play you in zone all the way up to the very end of the game,” said Skinner. “The second half we talked about execution and we had Jen get in foul trouble in the first half and that put us in a weird spot personnel wise.”

The Lady Huskies needed to get things cranked up offensively in the second half and they did just that getting numerous layups and points in the paint from Brown.

Brown found her rhythm in the second half and finished the game with 16 points, all of which came in the final two quarters.

Jordan Jones led all scorers with 22 points in the game and the 1-2 scoring combo of Brown and Jones combined for 38 of Helena’s 46 points in the game.

“They’re a really good combination to play together because Jordan is really aggressive and has a lot of bounce and they just have this chemistry between the two of them,” Skinner said of Brown and Jones.

Helena improved to 1-0 on the season and will take on Mountain Brook on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at home.