Trotters escape Eureka with win to cap regular season

The Plains girls’ regular season basketball schedule concluded the way it officially began back in November, with a win for the Trotters.

Saturday in Eureka, the Trotters took on the Lady Lions and escaped with a 37-35 thriller of a win.  Earlier in the week, the Plains fell 70-40 to Western 7B conference runner-up St. Ignatius, which finished one-half game behind regular season champion Thompson Falls. 

The Western 7B girls’ and boys’ tournament begins this weekend in St. Ignatius. 

Meanwhile, the Plains boys lost to the same two opponents, 51-35 to Eureka and 66-61 to St. Ignatius. 

The Trotters win over Eureka Saturday was a tough fight for both teams as they battled for post-season playoff seeds. 

Plains held the Lady Lions to four points in the first quarter while scoring 10 of their own to take a six-point lead into the second quarter. 

The Trotters emerged from the second eight minutes of play with a seven-point lead after outscoring the home-standing Lady Lions 8-7, giving Plains an 18-11 halftime lead. 

The two teams traded baskets in the third quarter, with each team scoring 12 points to maintain the Trotters’ lead with one quarter to go. 

Eureka rallied and outscored Plains 12-7 in the final quarter but fell just short in their comeback effort as the Trotters hung on the for the two-point win. 

Aubree Butcher had 13 points to lead the Trotters in scoring, while teammate Mila Rivinius contributed nine points and Ava Lawyer added eight to the Plains cause. 

Saturday night versus St. Ignatius, the Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a 16-4 first quarter lead and never looked back against the Trotters. 

St. Ignatius outscored Plains 20-3 in the second quarter, setting them up with a 36-7 halftime advantage.  The two teams battled pretty much even up in the second half, with the Lady Bulldogs adding one point to their halftime lead to wrap up the conference victory. 

St. Ignatius, which improved to 7-1 in the conference and 13-4 overall this season, got 16 points each from Cora Matt and Kieran Incashola during the win. 

Plains was topped in scoring by Katelyn Subatch (8 points) and Lawyer, who added seven. 

The Plains boys, who have struggled at times during the second half of the regular season, took on St. Ignatius Thursday night, where the Bulldogs took a 15-11 lead after one quarter.  They added six points to their advantage in the second quarter, giving them a 31-21 halftime edge. 

The Bulldogs tacked two more points onto that lead in the third when they outscored the Horsemen 19-17. 

Plains then poured in 23 points in the fourth quarter, while holding the Bulldogs to 16, but it was not enough to wrestle the lead from St. Ignatius, which improved its Western 7B mark to 3-6 and its overall season record to 6-12. 

The loss dropped Plains to 2-7 in conference play and 6-9 overall. 

St. Ignatius’ human scoring machine, Lex LaFrombois, scored the nets for a game-high 45 points, giving him multiple 40-point plus games this season for the Bulldogs.  

Plains was topped by standout senior guard Darren Standeford, who scored 17 points for the Horsemen.  Teammate Wyatt Butcher added 12 points to the Plains cause. 

Saturday, Plains traveled to Eureka for a game against the Lions from Lincoln County High. 

By halftime, Eureka held a 27-16 lead.  After three quarters of play, the Lions boosted their advantage to 38-24, then maintained the lead the rest of the way. 

Allen led the Horsemen with 10 points, while Standeford chipped in eight points. 

The loss dropped the Horsemen to 2-8 in 7B play, one game ahead of last-place Superior (1-9).  Plains finished the regular season with a 6-10 overall record. 

The Horsemen will likely play second-seeded Troy in the opening round of the 7B tournament, while the Trotters opening round opponent is likely to be St. Ignatius.