Hot Springs: 67, St. Regis: 85

HOT SPRINGS – The Lady Savage Heat fought hard in their Thursday game against St. Regis, but could not get ahead and came away with a loss of 35-67.

The Lady Tigers leapt out to an early lead, ending the first quarter with a score of 8-25. St. Regis had a strong defense, holding the home team at bay whenever they gained possession of the ball. The Hot Springs girls tried to come back, bringing a number of points, but kept getting outplayed. With a Hot Springs basket in the last five seconds, first half closed with a score of 14-42.

As the second half began, the Lady Savage Heat worked hard to recover. The girls saw some improvements as they pushed against the St. Regis defense; the home team saw some success as they kept the Lady Tigers from making baskets.

Both teams were making good steals, keeping the other team from advancing. The third quarter closed with a score of 22-52.

The final quarter saw both teams continue their advances. The girls all played hard as they fought for anything extra. The Hot Springs girls could not bring in enough, though, and the game closed with St. Regis ahead.

Head Coach Michele Hunter felt the girls got off to a slow start, but had a stronger game in the second half. The girls rebounded the ball better and limited their turnovers. The coach said they became much more aggressive offensively and fixed some of the holes in their defense. She said they would be “a force to be reckoned with” once they had everything down.

Karly Lawson had a great game; she led the team in scores with 24 points earned. The girls were also commended for coming together to have a stronger team defense.

“That’s what we need to do, we need to work together as a team and then we’ll win a game,” Hunter said.

During practices this week, the girls will be working on their defensive plays. The team has been trying various strategies and Hunter feels they have found one that works.