Plains loses to Hot Springs; Trotters beat St. Regis
Plains senior Kylee Altmiller meets resistance from Hot Springs McKennzie Cannon during their game Feb. 6. Altmiller scored 15 while Cannon tallied 19 to help her team beat the Trotters, 69-50. (Scott Shindledecker/Valley Press)
Hot Springs junior Lizzy Fisher takes a shot against Plains during their Feb. 6 game. Fisher scored 13 points to helo the Lady Savage Heat to a win. (Scott Shindledecke/Valley Press)
For the Plains Trotter girls basketball team, this past weekend was a reflection of their season.
The Trotters opened their weekend play with a loss to powerhouse rival Hot Springs 69-50 Thursday night on their home court. They then traveled to St. Regis and beat the Lady Tigers 48-36.
The split mirrors their season play where they have hovered just above the .500 mark.
Thursday night in Plains they faced a once-beaten Hot Springs team which got 10 first quarter points from senior post McKenzie Cannon as the visiting Lady Savage Heat jumped out to a 17-11 opening quarter lead and never looked back.
By halftime Hot Springs increased their lead to 32-20 in a game that was a physical encounter with both teams bumping and scrapping from start to finish.
Lady Heat junior Irene Bravo had a pair of 3-pointers during the second quarter as Hot Springs pulled away from Plains.
The third quarter was a 16-16 stalemate as both teams traded baskets heading into the final quarter of play.
In the final eight minutes, Cannon added four more points to her game high 19 and sophomore guard Katelyn Christensen added six points as the Lady Savage Heat cruised to the hard-fought win.
Christensen and Lizzy Fisher scored 13 points each for Hot Springs, while senior Kylie Altmiller topped Plains with 15 in another classic battle with Cannon underneath the basket.
Friday night the Trotters traveled to St. Regis and used a strong second half to record the victory over the Lady Tigers.
St. Regis jumped out early in that game, holding a 15-10 lead at the end of quarter number one. Plains rallied in the second quarter and squared the game at 26-all heading into the intermission.
The second half was more of a defensive battle as Plains held St. Regis to 10 points for the half. At the end of the third quarter the held a 35-31 with eight minutes to play.
The Trotters outscored the Lady Tigers 13-5 in the fourth quarter to secure a season sweep of St. Regis.
Both teams head into the final weekend of regular season games, with district tournament action looming for both. Plains hosts Noxon Friday then travels to Two Eagle River for a Saturday evening game.
St. Regis hosts Hot Springs Thursday night, then closes out regular season play with a trip to Lincoln the following night.