Plains grabs upset win

It's no coincidence that trouble and Trotters begin with the same two letters.

The Plains junior high girls basketball team brought a rumble to Hot Springs' home court Friday and Saturday, decisively beating higher-seeded teams to pick up the county championship. While Plains began the second half of their final game with less than half the Lady Savage Heat's score, a quick barrage of baskets and a few mistakes from the Heat left Plains on top for the second upset championship win in row.

Game one: Trout Creek vs. Noxon. Trout Creek came into Friday's tournament with two major disadvantages: They were last seed and short a player from their already small lineup. The Eagles only brought five girls to play, which meant no players could rotate out for a rest. When lead player Acacia Eaton got fouled out in the fourth quarter, Trout Creek had only four players on the court to Noxon's five.

Fourth-seed Noxon had the second smallest team at the tournament, but the additional players made a difference, especially in late game. Quick-fire Red Devil Kendall Callen scored the first basket at the top of the game before Eaton leveled the score, setting both teams up for a game of back and forth. Eaton had five of Trout Creek's six points in the first quarter.

The Eagles finally gained some traction after an outside shot from Ashley Lantz put Trout Creek ahead in the second quarter, 10-6, but Callen scored twice in a row to tie things up again. Just before the half, Callen and teammate Chelby Smith put the ball away to leave the game 18-12.

While the Eagles threatened at the beginning of the third quarter with scores from Lantz and Pam Biarm, Noxon snapped off a train of points, including a nice drive from Callen on the buzzer, putting the score at 26-16. The Red Devils built on that advantage at the end, winning 32-19. Lead scorers from the game were Callen with 18 points and Eaton with 10. Trout Creek had the highest free throw percentage in the tournament, with Eaton making two of four and Lantz making one of two for 50 percent overall.

Game two: Thompson Falls vs. Plains. Second seeded Thompson Falls came off bullet-quick against third seed Plains with two baskets in the first two minutes from Angie Padden and Shasta Wilson. Plains followed up with two of their own from Jessica Hansen and Briaunna Smith and a free throw by Aspen Rude. Scores continued to seesaw before ending with Plains ahead 7-6 in the first quarter.

Plains continued to widen the lead in the second quarter, helped by three shots from Felicia Earhart, who also sunk a free throw before Thompson player Allison Vaught scored two minutes in. She scored again 2.5 minutes later. The Trotters ended the half with a 15-10 lead.

The distance widened again because of Shyann Aridis, possibly the tallest player at the tournament, who made four out of Plains' five two-pointers in the third quarter, including one sunk with less than three seconds on the clock. Despite the best efforts of Vaught, who scored six points in the second half, Plains kept pulling away into the fourth quarter. The three-point buzzer-beater by Trotter Ashley Holmes was just icing on the cake. Plains ended up 36-20. Lead scorers for the bout were Aridis with 10 points, Earhart with nine and Vaught with eight.

Game three: Hot Springs vs. Noxon. First seed and host Hot Springs decimated the younger, smaller Noxon in the Lady Savage Heat's first game of the tournament, doubling Noxon's score in a 42-21 blow-out. Hot Springs scored three goals in the first three minutes. A free throw five seconds into the game from Alex Green put the Heat on the board almost instantly. Heat's dominating player, Alyssa Foster, especially shone with five two-point shots in the first quarter. Noxon got back into the game after a time out when Callen scored, but those were the only points Noxon put up until just before the end of the half, when Callen scored again. The Heat outpaced the Red Devils 25-4 going into the third quarter.

They widened their lead as Foster made a repeat performance, scoring five more two-point shots in the third quarter. Laurel Schmiedbauer and Shanelle King also took a basket each. Callen managed to pick up five more points for the Red Devils before the end of the quarter. Callen, Smith-Borne and Chenowith all picked up the pace in the final quarter, scoring 11 more points for the Red Devils, but it wasn't enough to beat the Heat, who ended the game 42-21. Foster scored an incredible 26 points for her team. Callen was high scorer for Noxon. She had 16 points, including two three pointers, both shot in the second half. The win set Hot Springs up to play Plains in the championship Saturday afternoon.

Game four: Trout Creek vs. Thompson Falls. Thompson Falls trounced Trout Creek in the first consolation game Saturday, winning 32-18. Thompson Falls displayed excellent teamwork. Their strong passing game proved why they had been ranked second going into the tournament.

The first quarter ended 10-7 favoring Thompson Falls. Most of Trout Creek's early points came from free throws (the Eagles made six of 10 attempts in the entire game) but Lantz and Lori Grubius each scored a basket, while Madison Mayfield grabbed two for the Hawks. Thompson Falls pulled ahead even further in the second quarter, ending the half 16-10. Mayfield had six goals total for the half, while Madison Fitchett, Erica Sorile, Makayla Dalke and Nicole Ribeiro each had one.

The Hawks left the Eagles in the dust in the third quarter, pulling ahead 24-13 before capping the final score at 32-18. Six of Thompson Falls' final sixteen points came from Dalke while Trout Creek's came from Lantz and Eaton.

Almost every Hawk had a chance to score, but the point leaders were Mayfield and Dalke, who scored eight points each. Trout Creek lead scorers were Eaton and Lantz with six points apiece.

Game five: Thompson Falls vs. Noxon

If playing two games in a row left Thompson Falls tired, they didn't show it. The Hawks trounced Noxon, more than quadrupling the Red Devils' score with a 38-8 win.

The game started slow with eight points from Thompson in the first quarter, including two goals from Hawk Kelsey Fitchett. Callen again performed some buzzer magic with three points in the last few seconds, but the Red Devils couldn't stand-up to Thompson Falls' aggressive passing play. Other than two free throws sunk by Smith-Borne and Chenowith, Noxon didn't score again until four minutes into the fourth quarter.

Fitchett absolutely dominated the court, taking 22 points total — the second best performance in the tournament. Thompson Falls' next highest scorer was Cox, who ended with six points from three two-pointers. The majority of Noxon's points were split between Callen (for her sole three-pointer) and Chenowith, who scored the team's only goal and a free throw for three points total. Smith-Borne scored two points with two free throws before fouling out in the last quarter.

Championship game: Hot Springs vs. Plains

The Trotters had a tough enough job against favored Hot Springs without the Heat building up an early lead. Foster came out of the gate with a bang, scoring the first goal a little more than a minute into the game. Foster scored twice more and Courtney Subatch scored once. Plains' only point all quarter came from Aridis, who sank a free throw 2.5 minutes in. The first quarter ended 8-1.

Hot Springs had more of a fight on their hands in the second quarter as Plains put a few chips in their lead. The Heat started strong as Foster sank two free-throws four seconds into the quarter. Aridis took the next goal and sunk a free throw before Hot Springs' Shanelle King swiveled by her guard for a nice shot. Neither Plains or Hot Springs were able to capitalize on a series of free throw attempts except for Josey Carr, who managed one out of two before quarter's end. The score ended 13-6, Hot Springs leading.

Hot Springs still seemed confident going into the second half, with two points from Green less than a minute in. Then Plains rallied, leaving the Heat cold and scoreless as Ashley Holmes and Aridis both took two baskets. Felicia Earhart lobbed off three more two-pointers to bring the score 16 even at the end of the quarter.

Fans were on their feet screaming as the final quarter started and Plains broke the tie for a quick lead. In the first 45 seconds, Plains scored twice, with points from Smith and Holmes. Though Plains held the pace down, forcing Hot Springs to lunge for the ball, the Heat stayed scoreless as Aridis and Smith hit the basket again. Aridis then took another two points, scoring off the rebound of a missed free-throw from Earhart. Hot Springs just couldn't keep their hands on the ball long enough to score, and the game ended 26-16.

The lead scorer for Plains was Aridis, who had 12 points total, including two free throws. Foster scored nine points, almost all in the first quarter. She also nabbed three of five free throws total.