Preview: Pelham Panthers vs. Helena Huskies
Pelham is 10-0 against the Huskies since January of 2021, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Pelham Panthers will square off against the Helena Huskies at 6:00 p.m. Helena took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Pelham, who comes in off a win.
Last Tuesday, Pelham was fully in charge, breezing past the Eagles 65-33 on the road. Given Pelham's advantage in MaxPreps' Alabama basketball rankings (they are ranked 44th, while the Eagles are ranked 287th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Tee King was her usual excellent self, scoring 25 points along with six rebounds and three steals. That makes it four consecutive games in which she has scored at least a third of Pelham's points. Another player making a difference was Karma Wynn, who scored 17 points.
Meanwhile, Helena's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Wednesday after their seventh straight defeat. They were the victim of a rough 53-32 defeat at the hands of Oak Mountain.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Isabel Heintz, who scored nine points along with six steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Amari Grant, who scored nine points.
Pelham pushed their record up to 17-10 with that victory, which was their third straight on the road. They've been dominating during the contests in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 28.3 points. As for Helena, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost nine of their last ten matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-20 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Pelham have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 24.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Helena struggles in that department as they've been averaging 22.2 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything came up roses for Pelham against the Huskies when the teams last played on Friday as the team secured a 59-24 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Pelham since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
