Clean sweep for Plains basketball

It was a clean sweep for both the Plains Horsemen and Trotters basketball teams last week in the non- conference game against Hot Springs at Plains, although the final game of the night was real touch and go to the end.

The Trotters varsity team kept the fans at the edge of their bleacher seats throughout the game. The Hot Springs Lady Savage Heat were undefeated going into the game with three straight wins. The Trotters had three wins with their only loss at Darby the previous Saturday.

The Lady Savage Heat were hot from the start on Tuesday, scoring three straight times with Brooke Jackson starting off hitting her mark before the Trotters could even get on the board. Hot Springs collected six before Trotter Ava Lawyer swished one in for 6-3. She followed that immediately by stealing the ball and scoring again to put Plains one point behind. Hot Springs immediately struck back, but with just a second remaining in the first quarter, Lawyer hit another three-pointer to end the quarter two points behind the Lady Savage Heat.

Jackson and teammate Lauryn Aldridge, the only senior and the only six-footer on the Hot Springs team, started off the second quarter with consecutive baskets and kept the lead throughout the first half, which ended 17-13. Plains turned the tide in the third with Katelyn Subatch sinking a three-pointer, followed by Lawyer with two points for an 18-17 Trotter lead. Lady Savage Heat came right back again with Erica Cannon hitting her mark to regain the lead, which went back and forth until Hot Springs' Kara Christensen tied the game 15-15 with 15 seconds remaining on the third quarter clock.

With just over two minutes left in the game, six-foot tall junior Lexie Deming scored to give the Trotters the lead. But then Christensen did it again with 38 seconds left in the game to tie things up and sending the game into overtime. About halfway through the four-minute overtime period, Subatch scored, followed by a free throw point by Deming for 39-36 Trotters. With 2.2 seconds on the clock, senior Blakely Lakko hit one of two free throws to give Plains a 40-36 lead and the victory.

"I thought the girls showed some toughness to fight through adversity," said Brooks Sanford, the Trotters head coach. "For a young team to settle in and make a comeback showed a lot of growth," added Sanford, who's in his first year as coach. Lawyer, a freshman, was the high scorer for the Trotters with 13 points, followed by Deming with 10 and Subatch with eight.

"There are always a lot of things to work on and for us it is situational awareness, valuing the basketball every possession and fighting for position on rebounds," said Sanford. "This is a very fun group of kids to coach. They are eager to learn and bring a positive attitude to every practice and game," he said.

The high scorer for the Lady Savage Heat was Jackson, a 5-foot, 9-inch junior, who chalked up 16 points. Christensen scored nine points. The sophomore also had 11 rebounds and five steals, said Hot Springs head coach Richard Jackson. Aldridge had the most rebounds with a dozen. She also had three assists and three steals. Sophomore Callie Cano had the most assists with four. "The girls played real well. Some had to play all five quarters and didn't quit. They showed true grit," said Jackson, the Hot Springs head coach for eight years.

The boys varsity game was a different scenario with Horseman senior Anaya Loberg drawing first blood, followed by a three-pointer by teammate junior Zayden Allen and by the end of the first quarter the Horsemen had a 16-5 lead. By the end of the first half Plains had a 32-9 lead. Horseman Zephaniah Dines, a senior, started off the third with a two-pointer. With just over a minute and a half left in the third Savage Heat Nick McAllister, a junior, scored to make it a 44-12 Plains lead.

The Hot Springs boys didn't let up in the fourth by chalking up two consecutive three-pointers, followed by a two point basket by senior 6-foot, 2-inch Quincy Styles-Depoe, the last Hot Springs score and a final of 52-27 ,the Horsemen's third win of the season, said head coach Tyrel Allen.

"Overall I thought our kids played real well. Everyone was able to come in and contribute to the win. We are moving better and anticipating passes within our press which has been our focus the last week," said Allen, who's in his sixth year as head coach.

Zayden Allen was the top scorer with 13 points followed by Loberg with 11 points. Allen was also the top rebounder with six, along with nine steals. Junior Pablo Hernandez had six steals, followed by junior Darren Standeford with four. Aden West had five rebounds.

"Our field goal percentage from two pointers was over 56%, which is a great stat. We need to focus on playing defense with our feet every possession, especially as we tire out," said Allen, who added that his boys shot 58.8% at the free throw line. "I am still looking for a cleaner game with fewer turnovers as well. We had way too many this game that were not forced," said Allen.

The junior varsity squad for the Horsemen defeated the Hot Springs Savage Heat 17-7. The Trotters JV girls chalked up a 9-5 win against the Lady Savage Heat JV squad.