By SETH HAGAN | For the Reporter

HELENA – The Helena Huskies slowly, but surely pulled away from the Thompson Warriors Wednesday, Jan 30 in a rescheduled game that had both teams off their normal preparation and schedule.

That showed on the court in a game that started slow and ended up a track meet, but ultimately, Helena prevailed with a 57-42 win at home.

“As players and coaches, we’re all creatures of habit,” said Huskies’ head coach Alan Skinner. “So having a game that’s supposed to be played yesterday and changing the routine threw everybody off.”

The departure from the norm was obvious in the game’s first quarter as neither team could get going offensively. Only three players combined hit shots for the Huskies and Warriors.

Autumn Edmonds was the hero for Helena scoring all eight of the team’s points in the opening period while Zoria Miller and McKenzie Saylor scored four and three points, respectively, for Thompson as Helena took a small 8-7 lead into the second quarter.

Helena (11-10, 1-5) started to get going as the game went on, while Thompson struggled to penetrate the Huskies’ 2-1-2 zone scoring another seven points in the second period.

Five Huskies scored a basket each, and Kya Gardner began her prolific night with four points, including knocking down both of her free throws.

“Kya is a Tasmanian devil of a basketball player,” Skinner said. “She is the strongest kid on our team, runs track, and when I was able to see her physical tools I started giving her reps in the post so she could do what she does best, playing defense and getting to the boards.”

The quarter set the stage for a second half where the game’s pace radically changed—especially for Helena. The Huskies’ rhythm returned in full in the third quarter as Gardner and KK Busby scored six points each for Helena.

Their rotations and passing were much crisper and moved around Thompson’s full-court and zone pressure. The Warriors looked to press after made baskets, but their shooting woes continued as Miller scored seven of the team’s nine points in the quarter.

Helena’s lead grew to 13 as they headed into the fourth quarter with a 36-23 advantage. Both teams went on to score 19 points each in the final quarter of play as Thompson made runs here and there, yet Helena never allowed their lead to get back to single digits.

Brooklyn Oden came alive for the Warriors scoring 15 of her team-high 19 points in the period in a variety of ways. Miller, who has been plagued with injuries this season, re-aggravated an ankle injury and did not return to action after hitting two free throws in fourth, finishing with 13 on the night.

Julia Hensley, who was honored before the game for eclipsing 1,000 career points, played the role of closer for the Huskies scoring seven points down the stretch after going scoreless in the first three quarters of the game.

“She’s played through injuries all year, dislocated her shoulder last season then got hurt again this season in a pretty bad car accident right before the season where she nearly had her leg broken,” Skinner said of Hensley. “She’s fought through a lot of adversity behind the scenes that a lot of people don’t know about, but she came to me in the middle of the year and said she wanted to play for her teammates and that we had a chance to be special so she fought through those things—really speaks to just the kind of kid that she is.”

Gardner led Helena with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Edmonds added 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Thompson (9-17,1-5) will finish off the regular season Friday, Feb 1 at Pelham and will play at 6 p.m. Helena will also conclude their season Friday against Oak Mountain.