Lady Savage Heat plan to rise from ashes

HOT SPRINGS – The Lady Savage Heat competed against Charlo at home Saturday night.

They started fine with the score tied at 9-9 with one minute left in the first quarter but Charlo took off in the second. The score going into the second half was 12-29 and the Hot Springs ladies struggled to catch the purple Vikings.

“The second quarter has been our nemesis this year,” Head Coach Robert Kearney said.

The Lady Savage Heat had more than just the unlucky second quarter streak to overcome. Some Hot Springs players fouled out which lowered their already dwindling numbers.

“We are still adjusting to the loss of Amanda Woods,” Coach Kearney said. “Then we got into foul trouble and had to play a lot of less-experienced players.”

Despite the hardships, the Lady Savage Heat fought back and put up numbers.

Meara Schmiedbauer led her team in points with nine. Alex Green led in rebounds with eight at the end of the night. Josey Carr contributed with seven points and seven rebounds.

The Lady Savage Heat also played against St. Regis this week away from home. The final score was 29-45. Coach Kearney said the girls played well despite the loss.

Carr scored 11 points and had 14 rebounds. Schmiedbauer put up 12 points and four rebounds. Together, the girls were what Coach Kearney referred to as the inside [Carr] and outside [Schmiedbauer] force.

Next week the Lady Savage Heat will travel to Pablo to take on Two Eagle River. The Hot Springs ladies beat Two Eagle River earlier in the season, however, Coach Kearney said they will be a challenge with home-court advantage.

On Saturday, Jan. 25, the Lady Savage Heat will compete against district number one Arlee at home. Last time they met, Arlee beat Hot Springs by over 30 points but Coach Kearney is hopeful they will do better this time around.

“Win or lose we will play hard and continue to learn,” Coach Kearney said. “This ends the first half of the season so we just hope to reflect back and move forward with our goals.”