Plains teams end season with winning records

It’s been a few years since either the Plains boys or girls basketball teams have made it to the Western Divisional tournament.

But they were both there as participants in this 2023-24 revival of Plains High School basketball.

Both teams were ousted from the tourney after two games, but their seasons, which included an overall winning record for the Horsemen (14-10) and an 11-12 record for the Trotters show the program is on the mend and headed in the right direction.

The Plains boys qualified as the third seed from the Western 7B District and were paired with Western 6B two seed Anaconda. The Copperheads, who finished second to Divisional champion Loyola, struck early and often against Plains, outscoring the Horsemen 18-4 in the first quarter. Anaconda continued its relentless defensive pressure in the second quarter, while outscoring Plains 18-6 on their way to a 36-10 halftime lead.

The third quarter was more of the same, with Anaconda adding a dozen points to its lead, 51-13 by the end of the quarter.

Plains kept battling and shaved two points off the large lead in the fourth quarter but it was not enough to change the Anaconda onslaught.

Aden West led the Horsemen with nine points, while Cael Mikalotos scored a game high 17 for the Copperheads.

The loss dropped Plains into the consolation round where they faced 7B conference foe Arlee. Anaconda moved into the semi-finals against 7B number one seed Eureka as a result of the win over Plains.

As was the case the day before with Anaconda, Plains fell behind the run and gun Warriors 22-13 after the first eight minutes of play and could not recover the rest of the way.

Arlee kept up their defensive pressure and rebounding, while at the same time outscoring Plains 15-4 in quarter number two to take a 37-17 lead at the half.

The Warriors scored 27 points in the third quarter, upping their advantage to 64-31 heading into the final quarter of regulation.

Plains outscored Arlee 22-18 in the fourth quarter but the damage had already been done.

The loss eliminated Plains from the tournament. Zayden Allen led the Horsemen with 14 points, while Arlee moved on in consolation play where they faced Florence-Carlton.

Ben Harlow-Old-Person led all scorers with 27 points for Arlee.

The 14-10 record was the first winning record for Plains boys in three years.

The Trotters, meanwhile, took their fourth seed District finish into the Divisional first round where they ran into Missoula Loyola, the top seed from 6B, who eliminated Plains with a 67-26 win.

The Breakers broke out to an overwhelming 26-7 first quarter lead, then improved their advantage to 54-11 by the half.

The pace slowed in the third quarter as reserves from both sides entered the game and the 40-point deficit Mercy Rule was in effect. The Trotters outscored Loyola, the tournament runner up, 10-5 but the game had been decided long before.

Aubree Butcher was the leading scorer for Plains with six points, while Spencer Laird scored a game high 20 for Loyola.

The Plains loss dropped them into a fourth meeting of the year with Sanders County rival Thompson Falls, who won the three previous meetings with the Trotters this year.

T Falls jumped out to a 16-9 first quarter lead, then expanded it to 29-18 by halftime.

The two teams traded baskets in the third quarter, 9-9, as they headed into the final quarter of regulation with Thompson Falls leading 38-21.

The Lady Hawks tacked eight points more onto their lead to secure the win.

The win upped T Falls’ season mark to 14-7, while Plains fell to 11-12 with the season-ending loss. It was the best record for the Trotters in four years.

Thompson moved on to the second round of consolation games where they faced Mission. The Lady Hawks fell to Mission, eliminating them from the tournament the next day.

Both teams return solid teams for next year.