Plains boys and girls teams open 2-0 at Ronan tourney
Kylie Altmiller (30) of Plains and Lexa Craft (14) play defense against Victor in Friday’s game in the tip-off tournament in Ronan. (Chuck Bandel/Valley Press)
Plains frosh Kimmy Curry (32) starts a fastbreak against Victor during the tip-off tournament Friday in Ronan. (Chuck Bandel/Valley Press)
Plains' Treydon Brouillette passes to Jeremiah Allen Friday against Victor. (John Dowd/Clark Fork Valley Press)
Plains’ Kade Pardee scores against Victor in Friday’s game. (John Dowd/Clark Fork Valley Press)
Basketball season is off to a good start at Plains High School.
Both boys and girls teams posted 2-0 records at last weekend’s Ronan Tip-off tournament to open the 2019-20 season.
The boys turned in a pair of dominating performances beginning with their opener against Victor Friday afternoon in the Ronan Event Center.
Senior Esvin Reyes scored the Horsemen’s first basket of the season on a hook shot less than a minute into the game against the outgunned Victor Pirates. From that point on it was all Plains.
Paced by superior rebounding and an aggressive, swarming defense, the Horsemen rode the balanced scoring of senior guards Treydon Brouillette and Jake Weyers who had 15 and 16 points respectively on the way to a 60-13 rout of the Pirates.
After one quarter Plains had a 23-3 lead and were never threatened. The Horsemen overwhelmed Victor on the boards at both ends of the court and scored on several fast breaks throughout the contest. By halftime the Horsemen were up 37-7.
That halftime advantage had grown to 53-11 by the end of quarter number three, and the 40-point lead mercy rule was put into play, keeping the clock running non-stop except for timeouts.
Plains scored just seven points in the fourth quarter but held Victor to just a single bucket as time ran out.
The Horsemen continued their winning and running ways Saturday evening in a lopsided match against Clark Fork. Plains scored early and often in beating the Mountain Cats on their way to a convincing 55-28 victory.
The Lady Trotters, meanwhile turned in an equally dominant performance in their Friday opener, blasting the Victor girls 50-14 behind 6-foot-2-inch senior center Kylie Altmiller’s 12-point effort. Altmiller was also a rebounding and defensive force in the paint.
By the end of the first quarter, the Trotters held a 15-4 lead. With Altmiller and crew dominating the glass, that lead grew to 27-6 at the half.
Led by a swarming, relentless defense Plains continued to add to their insurmountable lead.
Saturday night proved to be a far more challenging contest for the Trotters when they faced Clark Fork, the Superior/Alberton co-op team from Mineral County.
However, their height advantage and a defense that matched Clark Fork’s aggressive style of play propelled the Plains girls to a 45-34 win.
Next up for the girls is a two-game homestand this weekend with Valley Christian coming in Friday afternoon and Seeley-Swan their opponent Saturday. The boys will face the same two teams this weekend, following the girls’ games.