Hot Springs flies past St. Regis, 65-35
It was a tough weekend for the young ladies on the St. Regis High basketball team as they fell to undefeated Hot Springs, 65-35, Thursday.
The Lady Savage Heat, a much taller and more experienced team, has established itself as a regional favorite to be a factor come playoff time.
Hot Springs used an effective pressure defense and took advantage of its superior rebounding abilities in what was actually a closely contested first half.
With 6-0 senior post McKenzie Cannon rebounding and scoring from close range and sophomore Katelyn Christensen running the show from outside, Hot Springs jumped out to a 16-10 lead after the first quarter. Christensen scored eight points in the quarter and Cannon added six.
Lady Tigers sophomore Rylie Burnham and freshman Macy Hill scored four points apiece in the opening quarter to keep St. Regis close.
Another six points from Cannon and four from Christensen helped Hot Springs in a hard-fought second quarter as the Lady Savage Heat built a 26-17 lead at the half.
The third quarter would prove to be the difference in the game as Christensen’s defense and scoring, along with another half-dozen from Cannon helped Hot Springs build a substantial 48-24 lead by the quarter’s end.
Christensen, who led all game scorers with 26 points, threw in seven points, including a 3-pointer in the third.
Christensen topped offer her big night with another seven points in the final quarter. Cannon who dominated the boards most of the game, finished with 21 points.
The win propelled Hot Springs to a 9-0 mark on the year.
Friday night the struggle continued for the Lady Tigers, when they dropped a heart-breaker to Lincoln in St. Regis.
In a low-scoring, defensive battle, the Lady Tigers jumped to an early lead, before the Lady Lynx rallied in the second half for a 23-21 victory.
St. Regis had an 8-5 first quarter lead and led 15-10 heading into the second half.
Behind a stingy defense and cold shooting by the host team, the visitors from Lincoln held St. Regis to just one point the third quarter as they pulled to within a single point heading into the final eight minutes of play.
The Lady Lynx got key buckets from a trio of players, led by Alyvia Blotkamp who led Lincoln with seven points for the game. They outscored the Lady Tigers 8-5 in the final frame to eke out the win.
St. Regis senior Kylie Thompson led the Lady Tigers in scoring with eight points.
The underclass dominated Tigers are 2-8.
Next up for St. Regis is a home game Friday against Charlo, followed by a road game at Victor Saturday.