Trotters run past Tigers

Don't be fooled by the Trotters' name; these Plains girls like to get out and run.

There was no trotting around about it Saturday as the Trotters ran past the visiting Darby Tigers 62-42. The Trotters settled the issue early, using a 15-2 win of the second quarter to take a 35-15 lead into halftime and cruising in for the win from there.

After a rather pedestrian start to the season (the Trotters edged Drummond 22-18 in Frenchtown two weeks ago), the Trotters seem to have found their running, and scoring, stride since then.

New coach Eddie Fultz expected it to take a while before his Trotters broke into a gallop this season. "These girls are learning an entirely new system, we are pushing the ball a lot more than they are used to," he said. "But we have some pretty smart players and they are catching on quick now."

Perhaps the smartest and the quickest Saturday, senior Kassidy Kinzie led the Trotters to the win with 19 points, Kylee Altmiller chipped in with 15, Rachel Huenink bucketed 14, Haley Josephson netted nine, Emma Morgan three and Natalee Deschamps two.

Considered one of the top teams in sister District 13C, the Tigers had three girls – Casey Ehmann, TeaAna Rouse and Gracie Lang – score 11 points apiece.

Now 3-0 and suddenly looking like one of the best teams in District 14C, the Trotters will open conference play hosting always-tough Charlo Saturday. The Trotters face another key 14C tilt Tuesday, hosting Arlee, and will complete their pre-holiday schedule visiting Class B Thompson Falls Dec. 20.

"These next three games will teach us a lot about ourselves," Fultz said. "Charlo and Arlee are two of the best teams in the Western C and Thompson Falls is a solid Class B team. We hope to play well against all three opponents."

As the excitement continues to grow around his Plains girls, Fultz is keeping things in perspective. "We are doing some good things," he admitted, "but we still have a long ways to go in becoming the team I think we can be."