Plains Trotters surprise St. Regis Lady Tigers

After a smooth start for the St. Regis girls basketball team earlier last week, the Lady Tigers fortunes changed.

The girls opened the week with a convincing 46-21 win over non-conference foe Mullan, Idaho. They were then surprised at home by the Plains Trotters before running into unbeaten Charlo on the road.

Against Mullan, a game added to their schedule for Tuesday, the Lady Tigers came out strong and never looked back. Junior point guard Baylee Pruitt scored all 11 of St. Regis’ first quarter points, including a pair of long-range threes, as the Lady Tigers secured an 11-6 lead at the end of the first quarter of play.

With a smothering defense leading the way, the Lady Tiger overwhelmed Mullan in the second quarter, outscoring the Idaho version of Lady Tigers 15-4 as St. Regis built a 26-10 halftime lead.

On a night where the Lady Tigers shot only 2 of 14 from the free throw line, their overall shooting was more than enough to swamp the visitors from the other side of Lookout Pass.

Sophomore guard Macy Hill scored six points in the second quarter, including one of the two free throws the Lady Tigers cashed in on during the game.

Hill and Pruitt each scored five points in the third quarter, boosting the Lady Tigers lead to 38-14 heading into the final quarter of play.

The two teams pretty much traded baskets the rest of the way as St. Regis rolled to its third win of the season.

Pruitt finished with a game high 18 points, while Hill chipped in 17.

Talowa Fallingwater paced Mullan with 14 points.

Thursday night of last week, the Lady Tigers hosted the Plains Trotters in a Western 14C conference game, with both teams looking for a crucial win.

Plains took control of the game early and never looked back behind the shooting and overall play of sophomore guard Kimmy Curry, who finished the night with a game-high 19 points.

The Trotters added to their lead in the second and at the intermission held a 32-12 lead over the host team.

Plains would continue to pad its margin the rest of the way, outscoring the Lady Tigers 10-7 in the third quarter and 16-11 over the last eight minutes of the game.

Hill led St. Regis in scoring with 11 points, while Kaylah Standeford threw in 11 for Plains, which also got 11 Kyrstena Boes.

The win lifted Plains to 2-3 in the conference and 2-4 on the year, while St. Regis dropped to 1-3 in 14C play and 3-3 overall for the season.

Things did not get any better for St. Regis the next night, Saturday, when they hit the road for a game in Charlo against the unbeaten, conference-leading Lady Vikings.

After a tight battle in the first quarter that ended with a slim 6-5 Charlo lead, the Lady Vikings showed why they have yet to lose as they ran away from the Lady Tigers 18-5 in the second quarter to post a 24-10 lead at the half.

Charlo, which had four players score in double figures for the game, put things out of reach in the third quarter as their tall, talented duo of Conner and Carlee Fryberger dominated inside play. The Frybergers scored 11 points each on the night, helping fuel a 24-8 advantage in the third quarter and a 14-2 edge in the final eight minutes of play.

Hayleigh Smith led all scorers with 12 for Charlo, while Cassidi Cox added 10 to the multipronged Lady Viking attack.

Pruitt led St. Regis in scoring with seven points.

The win kept Charlo’s record unblemished, including a 4-0 conference mark and 5-0 overall record.

The loss dropped St. Regis to 1-4 in conference play and 3-4 overall.

Next up for the Lady Tiger is a daunting schedule including a trip to Hot Springs to face the last-place Lady Savage Heat Friday night, then a trip down I-90 to take on the Clark Fork Lady Mountain Cats.