Hot Springs ends weekend with two wins

Danielle Switalski

Although Hot Springs came out looking rusty Friday night after a three-week hiatus from on-court competition, the Lady Heat went home with a win against Arlee, 41 to 29.

MacKenzie Wood had a strong game with five steals and seven of the team’s 20 rebounds, a high number for a point guard.

Head Coach Scott Wigton said the team came out slow and out of synch, the exact opposite of how Hot Springs is known to play.

“I wasn’t very happy with the way we played (against Arlee) and there were some things that were definitely becoming a concern, but we rectified them in one day,” said Wigton who saw a completely different team come out and play on Saturday against Alberton.

Wigton said there was no flow to the game on Friday night and the team didn’t come out with their usual intensity as their offense looked stagnant and the team only had eight defensive rebounds. Although the team went home with a win, Wigton was quick to explain to his team that if they come out and play as stagnant as they did on Friday, games against teams like Charlo will not end in a win.

Although the team was out of sync on Friday, they came back on top of their game on Saturday against Alberton, winning 52-29. Both Arlee and Alberton play two different games, Arlee keeping the pace slow and deliberate, with Alberton playing a quicker, more uptempo game, which in turn caused the Lady Heat to turn up their own momentum and keep the game fast paced.

The biggest turn around for Hot Springs on Saturday was in their rebounding and defense. The team had 34 rebounds in total, 18 of them on the offensive end, which gave Hot Springs 18-second chance opportunities and added points to the score board.

“I told them if you don’t play defense you’re not going to play and you will come out (of the game). We have some growing up to do and mature decisions to make as to where you’re committed, and if you don’t play defense you won’t play, and it showed,” said Wigton who was impressed by the girls defensive and rebounding effort on Saturday.

Alberton gave Hot Springs the opportunity to show their offensive abilities as well. Alberton played both man to man and zone defense against the Lady Heat, which allowed for Hot Springs to run their different offenses to beat whichever defense teams may throw at them.

Meghan Massingale was the leading scorer for Hot Springs on Saturday with a total of 19 points. Wood had seven assists and four steals and Devon White had three steals and seven rebounds.

“It was one of those games that when I tell them in the locker room the night before that we have got to play better and then they do, that’s huge, they have a huge confidence boost, it was a good weekend overall,” said Wigton.

Hot Springs takes on Noxon in Hot Springs on Friday and Two Eagle on Saturday.