Hot Springs pours it on

Noxon came out ready to play Friday at their senior night starting out with intensity and outscoring the Lady Heat in the first half.

Although they were down at half time, Hot Springs upped their tempo in the second half, beating Noxon 41-29.  Hot Springs Head Coach Scott Wigton said the girls tried to up their tempo as much as possible in the second half to combat the aggressive play Noxon brought to the court in the first half, which helped the girls score off transition and take the lead. 

Noxon didn’t make it easy for Hot Springs as some of their bench players hit key three pointers to keep Noxon in the game in the third quarter.  Hot Springs switched up their defense in the fourth quarter from their core zone to man to man, which Wigton said helps the girls maintain their intensity.

“The reason I go to man to man is a couple of kids aren’t engaged as much as they should be and there are times I need to put some accountability on each person and they step up and don’t put themselves in bad situations and they seem to be able to adapt,” said Wigton who accredits his girls’ win with being able to switch defensive strategies at a moment’s notice.

Wigton said he tells his team that defense leads to offense, a mentality that helped the girls beat Noxon on Friday night, by playing tough defense in the second half.

Hot Springs went on to face Two Eagle at their senior night on Saturday, coming out strong and only giving up a mere five points in the first half going into the third quarter 35-5. 

“I told them before the game you need to use senior night and this emotion when it comes to your last home game into a positive emotion and come out with some energy and make it worth remembering and they came out and played about as good as a first half that I’ve ever seen them play,” said Wigton.

Wigton attributed their fast lead to their tough defense and ability to score off of transitions as the team had 19 steals in the first half. 

Randi Arnold had yet another double double on Saturday, with 16 points and 13 rebounds.  MacKenzie Wood had 22 points and Meghan Massingale had 12 points.  Woods broke 1300 points for her career, now having a total of 1311 points, one of the highest scorers in Hot Springs history.

Hot Springs is ready for Districts next weekend and could face St. Regis or Arlee, depending on the winner.  They have a by for their first District game of the season as they are going into the tournament with the number one seat.

“We are going to take each game like a little mini season and we will take the games as they come to us. We’re focused and our seniors don’t want to end anytime soon, so we have to take care of business in the next couple of weeks and take one game at a time,” said Wigton.

“They aren’t just special athletes but their amazing kids and just fun to be around and I want to thank them for the ride they’ve taken me on and the fortunate things that they’ve done for me to make my coaching experience extremely enjoyable.”