Noxon and Hot Springs both overcome adversity

NOXON – The Lady Savage Heat traveled across the county to compete against their rivals on the west end coming face to face with the Noxon Lady Red Devils on Thursday, February 6.

The Hot Springs ladies have had a tough season filled with illness and injuries but they persevered at playing well.

At the end of the first quarter, the Lady Savage Heat trailed behind Noxon by two points. They then came back and had an explosive second quarter and outscored the Lady Red Devils by 12 points. This made the halftime score 18-8 with Hot Springs in the lead. The Lady Savage Heat managed to hold on to the lead until the end and the final score was 30-20.

Meara Schmiedbauer was the lead scorer with 14 points, eight of which she earned in the game-changing second quarter. Josey Carr scored eight points and Alex Green added five points.

As for Noxon, Zoey Osborne brought in the most points for the Lady Red Devils with eight in all. Jenna Langdon trailed behind with six. Asiah Jensen had four points and Kamber Torti added in two points.

The court heated up as the competition kicked off and Lady Savage Heat Head Coach Robert Kearney was happy with their performance away from home.

“I thought we played quite well in that game. It is always a bit of a struggle when the girls are traveling but they played through that,” he said. “It was our first victory in a while so we were excited.”

Although Noxon lost the game, they put up a good, solid number on the scoreboard and continue to come together as a team. The young group of girls is working out the kinks and getting better with each and every game.

Noxon is not the only one who has had to face some hardships, the Lady Savage Heat has had to overcome dwindling numbers this season. With only eight girls, each game is an arduous process.

The Lady Savage Heat also played against the Plains Trotters this week in a nonconference game. The Schmiedbauer twins earned a combined 20 points. The Hot Springs ladies outscored the Trotters in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough to claim victory. The final score was 48-26.

Despite the loss, Coach Kearney said he saw great improvement from their previous meeting with the Trotters.

As for the Lady Red Devils, the girls played Arlee on Friday and were unable to come up with a win. The final score landed at 6-79.

The trouble started in the first quarter where the team was outscored by 10 points. The trend continued throughout the game. Torti brought in three points for the team, while Langdon contributed two and Jensen threw in a free throw.

The girls go on to play Superior on Friday and Thompson Falls on Saturday. From there they will continue on to the district tournament.

Next week, the Lady Savage Heat will compete against St. Regis in their final home game during senior night.

“It will be senior night so it will be a bit more emotional for the senior girls. They will want to play well against St. Regis,” Coach Kearney said.

On Saturday, the girls will travel to Charlo for their final game before the district tournament. Coach Kearney knows it will be a difficult match-up but he is excited for tournament play to begin.

“It is not so much about winning or losing but about going out and giving it our best shot,” he said. “It is an exciting time of year.”