Heat girls await Charlo

Let the Charlo Vikings be the flip-of-the-coin champions; on the court is where it really counts anyway.

A very important basketball game between two of the best girls Class C teams in the state of Montana is on tap in Hot Springs Saturday as the hometown Savage Heat, with a record of 7-1 in District 14C play and 15-1 overall and the No. 6 ranked team in Class C, hosts 8-0, 16-0 Charlo, the No. 4 ranked team.

Charlo won the first meeting of these two teams 43-40 back in January and wound up largely clinching 14C’s top seed into the upcoming tournament with that win. If Hot Springs and Charlo wind up tied atop the leader board, Charlo owns the coin flip, meaning the Vikings would still be No. 1 even if they lose to Hot Springs this week.

Savage Heat coach Richard Jackson wants his girls to prove to themselves and to the world that they can defeat Charlo, and hopefully take that hard-earned knowledge with them into the post season.

“That was a game we thought we could have won the first time we played, but that doesn’t matter now,” he said. “We just want to play our best against their best and see how it shakes out. There will be some other important games in the next few weeks, that’s for sure.”

The Heat will warm up for their next best encounter with Bret Thompson and his Lady Vikes by playing at St. Regis Thursday.

Hot Springs recorded two more 14C conference wins last week, taking down the Trotters 69-50 in Plains Friday and topping the Noxon Red Devils 66-43 in Hot Springs Saturday.

McKennzie Cannon scored 19 points and pulled down six rebounds to lead the Heat against Plains, Katelyn Christensen and Lizzy Foster added 13 points each, Sydney Jackson 11, Irene Bravo eight, Lily Winn four and Brianna Gray one.

Christensen and Winn had six rebounds each, Jackson grabbed five steals and Gray passed out six assists.

See other story for Plains scoring.

Against Noxon, Cannon collected 17 points, six rebounds and six steals, Jackson was good for 16 points, six assists and seven steals, Gray scored 12 points, Winn had eight points and six boards, and Bravo added seven points.

Christensen and Fisher each scored six points and six rebounds.

Please see other story for Noxon scoring.