Trotters fall to Arlee in 14C District challenge game

Only two girls’ basketball teams from the 14C District advance to the second level of postseason play, and none of the three Sanders County were able to move on to the next level.

For the second time in a row this season, Charlo earned a hard-fought win over Arlee and that was to win the 14C District Tournament crown Saturday evening at Joe McDonald Gym at SKC College in Pablo.

Second-seeded Charlo jumped out to an early double-digit lead over Arlee and squeaked out a 44-43 victory to claim the tourney title — and a top seed in the Western C Divisional Tournament this Thursday through Saturday at the MAC (Maroon Activity Center) at Butte Central High School.

Plains had an opportunity to earn a divisional tourney berth in a challenge game against Arlee on Monday evening at SKC. However, the top-seeded Scarlets had too much firepower for the Trotters, and they secured a No. 2 seed going into the divisional with a 59-42 win. (Game details will appear in next week’s Valley Press.)

In the all-important game for third place, Plains pulled away from St. Regis to a 53-31 win Saturday afternoon. That gave the Trotters an opportunity to take on Arlee, since the teams had not faced each other in the divisional tourney.

Third-seeded Plains opened the tourney with a 39-23 win over No. 6 Noxon. Charlo advanced to the championship game with aq 37-33 victory over the Trotters in Friday’s semifinals.

Bumped to the consolation bracket, Plains eliminated Hot Springs, 52-41, Saturday morning before getting the third-place win over St. Regis.

Fourth-seeded Hot Springs lost to No. 5 St. Regis 57-39 in the Lady Heat’s tourney opener and was eliminated by Plains.

After the loss to Plains, No. 6 seed Noxon rolled past Two Eagle River 53-14 Friday morning. The Lady Devils fell to St. Regis 45-26 in a loser-out game Saturday morning.

Seventh-seeded Two Eagle River was out in two games, falling to Charlo 69-10 and Noxon.

Charlo faces Drummond at 1:30 p.m. in the first round of the Western C Divisional. Arlee challenges undefeated Ennis in a 6:30 p.m. contest. Seeley-Swan plays the No. 2 seed from the 11C District at noon, and Darby plays Manhattan at 8 p.m.

14C District Girls Tournament

Feb. 14-16 at SKC, Pablo

Thursday Games

St. Regis 57,

Hot Springs 39

Hot Springs struggled through a two-point second period, falling behind St. Regis 26-11 at halftime and the Lady Tigers breezed to a 57-39 first-round win.

“Emma Hill finally came alive,” Hot Springs head coach Richard Jackson said of the 5-foot-9 St. Regis senior, connecting on four 3-pointers and netting 20 points. Hill had scored a total of nine points in the two previous games against the Lady Heat.

“It was a ‘down game,’” Jackson said. “We had a great week of practice, but we stubbed our toe, offensively and defensively.

“Our free throws were horrific,” the coach said. Hot Spring was 12-for-26 from the foul line.

Freshman Katelyn Christensen led Hot Springs with 17 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Kassidy Kinzie had eight points and Brianna Gray seven. McKennzie Cannon grabbed 10 rebounds.

Hot Springs had 12 turnovers and St. Regis 13.

Plains 39, Noxon 23

Plains held Noxon to single-digit scoring in all four quarters and posted as 39-23 win in both teams’ divisional opener.

“We did not play well, but we took care of business,” Plains head coach Eddie Fultz said.

“We hung in with them in the first half,” Noxon head coach Ryan Weltz said. “It was just depth and not having a good bench … Plains is pretty stingy on their defense. They have taller girls inside. We fought pretty hard. They’re a good team.”

Plains was just 12-for-25 from the foul line, and Noxon was 5-for-14.

Seven players scored for the Trotters, paced by Kinzie with 16 points. Natalee Deschamps added eight. Delaney Weltz led the Lady Devils with 12 points.

Friday’s Games

Noxon 53, TER 14

(loser out)

Noxon capitalized on Two Eagle River’s lack of experience and depth, reeling off 19- and 22-point quarters for a 41-9 halftime lead over the Lady Eagles.

“A bunch of girls quite on them,” coach Weltz said. “It’s one of those games that’s tough to play. The (TER) showed up to play and had a smile on their faces.”

Everyone who played for Noxon scored, led by eighth-grader Avery Burgess with 16 points. Delaney Weltz had 12, and Vanessa Horner eight.

Liz Hill and TaRae Goodluck had five points each for Two Eagle River.

Charlo 37, Plains 33 (semifinal)

No more than five points separated Charlo and Plains during their defensive-minded semifinal game Friday.

Plains led by two, 24-22, after three quarters. There were several lead changes in the see-saw final period. Teaira Truman sank two key free throws with 21 seconds remaining to give the Lady Vikes a 36-33 lead. Truman added a free throw with :05 to go for the final margin.

“I feel like we had it stolen from us,” Fultz said. “We didn’t extend that lead when we had the chance. We should have been up (ahead) as much as 12 to 15 (points).”

Free-throw efficiency was quite comparative as Plains was 13-for-19 and Charlo 13-for-22.

Kinzie led Plains with nine points, and Rachel Huenink added seven and Deschamps six.

Katilin Cox paced Charlo with 12 points, and Destiny Manuel had eight.

Arlee 54, St. Regis 42 (semifinal)

Arlee built a 17-11 first-quarter lead and was ahead 31-21 at halftime.

There were 59 free throws in the physical contest. Arlee was 15-for-33 and St. Regis 15-for-26 from the foul line.

Alyssia Vanderburg led the Scarlets with 18 points, and Louetta Conko-Camel had 15. Madison Kelly had 17 for St. Regis.

Saturday’s Games

Plains 52, Hot Springs 41 (loser out)

Plains opened up a very tight game with a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter and recorded a 52-41 victory over Hot Springs in a loser-out game Saturday morning.

The Trotters led 20-9, but a score clock malfunction delayed the game for a few minutes, and Plains’ momentum went by the wayside, according to Fultz. Hot Springs then went on a 14-2 run before Plains got back on top.

Hot Springs took a 31-29 lead on a 3-point jumper by Christensen, but back-to-back treys by Deschamps and Kinzie gave Plains a 35-31 lead at the end of the third period. The game was tied at 40-all with 3:30 remaining, and the Trotters raced away by scoring the next dozen points — capped by two free throws each by Kinzie and Miera Loberg — and Plains led 52-40 with a minute to play.

Both Hot Springs and St. Regis beat Plains to know the Trotters out of the 14C District Tournament. “We got a double-dose of revenge,” Fultz said.

“My defense got too consumed on the help side,” Lady Heat coach Jackson said. “They made a simple pass down low and made some easy shots. Plains had it in their minds this was not going to be a déjà vu like last year.”

Kinzie paced Plains with 17 points, 10 in the first quarter. Kylee Altmiller had 14 points, going 8-for-8 from the foul line.

For the game, Plains was 14-for-23 from the stripe, and Hot Springs was 13-for-26.

In their last game of the season, the Lady Heat had just 10 turnovers. Plains finished with 16.

Sydney Jackson had 11 points, eight rebounds and four steals for the Lady Heat. Brianna Gray had 10 points. Christensen added eight points. McKennzie Canon had eight rebounds.

A young Hot Springs squad will lose just one senior, reserve Elena McAllister.

“We’ll rebound. We’re returning a lot of people. I’m happy with my crew. They’re a great bunch of girls,” coach Jackson said. “They represented their team and their town very well.”

St. Regis 45, Noxon 26 (loser out)

Noxon trailed St. Regis 17-14 after one quarter Saturday morning, but was outscored 31-9 in the second half as the Lady Tigers stayed alive with a 45-26 win.

“We came out ready to play that game,” Noxon coach Weltz said. “We were excited to be playing. It was as good a first half as we could play.”

Noxon’s half-court offense suffered when St. Regis double-teamed Delaney Weltz on the low post. “She struggled getting shots off, but Avery Burgess and the other girls stepped up and played well,” the coach said, especially since Weltz was in foul trouble.

“We gave up some 3-balls and offensive rebounds and putbacks. We have to do the little things to win a ballgame like that,” coach Weltz said.

Burgess led Noxon with 13 points. Madison Kelly had 10 for St. Regis.

Noxon will lose four seniors — Weltz, Kai Murray, Madison Koonce and Kristina Brown.

Brown was ill the last several weeks and unable to play in the divisional tourney. “She was a trooper,” coach Weltz said, who explained that Brown and his daughter Delaney had played together since middle school. “It was a big blow to Delaney, too. It was kind of a confidence factor for her.”

Coach Weltz also had praise for Murray’s rebounding and “big minutes” provided by Koonce. Eight-graders Burgess and Emily Brown “learned a lot” playing on the Noxon High School varsity team.

Plains 53, St. Regis 31 (third place)

Getting off to a strong start, Plains led St. Regis 25-9 at halftime of the game for third place Saturday afternoon.

“We were playing pretty well both ways,” Fultz said. “We came out ready to play. We were seeking revenge. We got the matchup games we wanted (vs. Hot Springs and St. Regis).

“We put together the whole season to play that tournament. We were playing some of our best basketball toward the end of the season,” the coach added.

Altmiller led Plains with 14 points and nine rebounds. Deschamps netted four 3-pointers and had 12 points, and Kinzie added nine. Huenink hauled in 10 rebounds. Deschamps was also key with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Fultz had praise for Kinzie, one of five seniors on the Trotter team. “She was our go-to the entire tournament,” he said.

The other seniors bidding adieu to the basketball court at Plains are Deschamps, Huenink, Haley Josephson and Willow Sturdevant. All were valuable assets to the Trotters hoop program.

Charlo 44, Arlee 43 (championship)

Charlo got off to a great start against rival Arlee in the battle for the 14C District Tournament championship Saturday evening, and emerged with a 44-43 victory. No details of the game were available at VP press time.