Trotters take off at tourney
In a match-up of cross-valley rivals, Plains defeated Thompson Falls 35-26 in the championship game of the Sanders County Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday.
“I’m hoping it gives them some confidence and also I’m hoping it gives them some insight into what we can do if we put our time into it and work hard,” Trotters head coach Richard Griffin said. “The biggest thing I liked was that they didn’t give up.”
Not only did the Trotters turn heads by winning the trophy, they did it with four new starters and a new coach. Suffice it to say, there were some pre-game jitters heading into their championship game.
“I think it’s normal to be nervous, and I don’t know that it ever changes from the first game you play to the fiftieth game you play,” Griffin said. “In my case it doesn’t matter if I’m coaching a sixth grade junior high tournament or these varsity girls, I’m equally as nervous for each game.”
Tournament MVP Diamond LaDeaux led Plains with 10 points and Nikki Kunzer added nine for Plains, which held a 22-11 half-time lead by way of a 16-3 second quarter run.
“We know what we need to do to improve and what we need to do to get better,” Lady Hawk head coach Jason Reimer said. “I’m pretty optimistic about what this team can do mid-season, late season, it’s going to take a little time, but I think we’ll get there.”
Senior point guard Makayla Becker led Thompson Falls with eight points in the loss. Despite their hustle, the Lady Hawks struggled with mental mistakes commiting 28 turnovers and missing 14 free throw attempts.
In the consolation game, Noxon rebounded from a one point loss to Plains to up-end Hot Springs, 41-19, and even their tournament mark at 1-1.
“I’m happy how it went. I would have rather had us lost that first game and won the second game the way we did,” Noxon head coach Ron Jungert said. “That was a good loss for us, it really was. You need to learn how to lose before you can to win.”
Jungert, also in his first year as a head coach, has been holding two-a-day practices to get his girls ready for their eventual goal: making the state tournament.
“I read the rankings. All the coaches rated Noxon to finish last,” Jungert said. “This team feels different and we wouldn’t have it any other way, because this isn’t the Noxon of the past five years.”
Kim Marich led the Red Devils with 14 points and Jorden Wilkinson added 11.
Hot Springs was led by senior center Meghan Massingale with six points. Point guard Alyssa Foster was right behind with five points for the Savage Heat, who struggled hitting only 30 percent of their free-throws.
On Friday Thompson Falls edged Hot Springs 35-31 to advance to the championship game.
The young Blue Hawks are another step closer to earning their wings by advancing to the trophy game despite their lack of experience.
“One of my jobs is to make sure that they don’t get frustrated and think things have to be perfect right off the bat. It’s a work in progress,” Jason Reimer said of his team, which has only two seniors. “Kelsey Fitchett and Makayla Becker played quite a bit of varsity last year, but the other five girls this was really the first time they’d ever played in a varsity game.”
Becker and Kelsey Fitchett scored in douible digits with 12 and 11 points respectively.
For Hot Springs, it was all Sami, Massingale and Alyssa Foster combined to score 26 of their team’s 31 points (12, eight and six respectively).