Hot Springs girls Belgrade bound

Savage Heat goes 2-1 in divisionals to advance to the state tournament for the first time in nearly 20 years

Their high-powered offense was missing, but whether if it was free throws, rebounding, defense, or somebody off the bench stepping up their game, Hot Springs found a way to finish in second place at the Western C Divisional Tournament in Butte and advanced to the Class C State Tournament for the first time since 1988.

"It seemed like a different person every night stepped up." said Hot Springs coach Mike Benson. "If they weren't scoring they were doing something else," he said.

In Hot Springs' 51-35 victory over Shields Valley Thursday to start the tournament, it was sophomore Devon White, who stepped up her game. "It was kind of like her coming out party," Benson said. He said even though White didn't score, she played a crucial role in the victory with rebounds and steals. "She was a monster on the glass," Benson said.

Only four Savage Heat players ended up scoring in the come-from-behind victory, but Benson said that was not indicative of the game. "It was a real nice team win," he said. Randi Arnold led the Savage Heat with 19 points, followed by MacKenzie Wood's 13 points. Matea DePoe finished with 11 and Jordon Fisher put in eight.

Trailing Shields Valley 17-15 at halftime, Benson said the Savage Heat "stepped up their intensity" on defense and started hitting free throws in the second half to cruise to the 16-point victory. Hot Springs went 15 for 20 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter. Benson said they had been struggling from the free throw line in the past couple of game. "That was as good as we shot free throws in a long time," he said.

It was Fisher and the Savage Heat defense that stepped up their game in Hot Springs' 39-32 victory over Drummond Friday. Even though Fisher led the Savage Heat in scoring with 13 points, it was her defense that impressed Benson the most.

The Lady Trojans had a 10-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, after their star-player Brianna Jesse hit three 3-pointers in the quarter. Benson said that after the first quarter he put Fisher on Jesse and she didn't score until late in the fourth quarter. "I plugged Jordon in and she was in her uniform the rest of the game," he said.

Benson wasn't only impressed with Fisher's defense, he said the team as a whole played defense as well as they ever have. "Our defense was stellar. When you get to that level you're playing really good teams and to hold them to 32 points is incredible." he said.

Benson said the Savage Heat's defense was also great in the championship game against Twin Bridges Saturday, but it couldn't overcome Hot Springs' turnovers problems. The Savage Heat turned the ball over 19 times in the 42-31 defeat. "You can't turnover the ball that many times and expect to win against a team that good," he said. "They were the best team we played all year," he added.

Although Hot Springs didn't win the championship game, Benson said they did a lot of things right in the game. "We played good enough win," he said. The game was close throughout and Twin Bridges only had a two-point lead heading into the final quarter.

When Hot Springs travels to Belgrade March 6-8 it will be their first appearance in the state tournament since 1988, but Benson said they act like they've been there before. He said the team has been told since the sixth-grade they were going to the state championship, so there was a lot of high expectations. "They've lived up to them. They haven't folded under the pressure," he said. Benson said the team's approach to the tournament and any game is very workmanlike. "They just pick up their lunch pales and go to work," he said.