Trotters lose to Charlo, bury Troy
Plains turned in one of the Trotters’ best defensive efforts of the season last Friday at Charlo, but had a tough time converting shots in a 40-19 District 14C loss to the Lady Vikes.
The Trotters rebounded in a big way Saturday, pouring in 57 points through the first three quarters en route to a 59-24 non-conference win over Troy in Plains.
Plains totes a 4-3 District 14C and 8-4 overall record into Thursday’s key conference game at Arlee, a team that has not lost since the first week of the season. The going is just a tough for the Trotters on Saturday when they play at Seeley-Swan, the front-runner in District 13C.
The Trotters held Charlo to 17 first-half points, but managed to score just seven themselves over the first 16 minutes of the contest.
“We just couldn’t buy a bucket,” Plains head coach Eddie Fultz said. “We had a bunch of offensive rebounds, but couldn’t get the ball to go in … It’s a big defensive match-up when us and Charlo get together.”
Behind 25-9 with a period to play, the Trotters made a run but it was answered by the Lady Vikes.
“We finally hit some shots with our guards in the fourth quarter,” Fultz said, “but every time we got within range they would hit a shot to get it back to a 10-point game … We got decent looks, but couldn’t finish them.”
Plains lacked offensive production from their tallest players. Kylee Altmiller did have seven points and 10 rebounds, but Rachel Huenink went scoreless.
The Trotters were 4-for-11 from the foul line, and Charlo was just 5-for-15, leaving the door open down the stretch.
“It was a grind-it-out defensive battle,” Fultz said.
Kassidy Kinzie led the Plains scoring with nine points, and she had four steals.
Liev Smith paced Charlo with 10 points. Leading scorer Kaitlin Cox has held to five points.
PLAINS LED Troy 17-5 after one period and 38-13 at intermission.
“You’re see us at the best we’ve been all season,” Fultz said of his squad against the Lady Trojans, who saw the running clock go against them midway through the third quarter.
Plains was 7-for-9 from the free-throw line while Troy was 3-for-8.
Nine Trotters scored in the win, led by Haley Josephson with a season-high 15 points and she had three steals. “We’ve been waiting all season for Haley to break out and have a good game,” Fultz said. “She kind of burst on the scene.”
Kinzie added a dozen points, and had six assists and four steals. Altmiller had four steals and three assists.
In their first meeting of the year with Arlee, Plains was within six points with two minutes to go, but the Scarlets used an 8-0 run to close the door on the Trotters. Arlee is ranked as high as sixth in the prep polls in Class C.