Savage Heat gain 13C wins

Hot Springs hosted the Valley Christian Eagles on Friday with both teams taking the win, putting both teams 2-0 in their conference.

HOT SPRINGS 44,

VALLEY CHRISTIAN 26

The Lady Savage Heat took the court first, winning over the Lady Eagles 44-26.

Kara Christensen hit the court on fire for the Heat gaining the first two baskets. Valley Christian struggled to keep up and soon Hot Springs raised the score to 11-5. Keeping their momentum, the Heat would end the first quarter up by six points.

"It's an early Christmas present to win this game. It was a big conference win," said head coach Richard Jackson.

Hot Springs would only allow the Eagles to gain two baskets in the second, capitalizing on several Valley Christian mistakes, and gaining 11 points before the half. Then in the third, Valley Christian's opening basket would be the only basket the Heat.

Heading to the final quarter with the score 33-15, the Eagles kept the Heat on their toes, but Hot Springs had set themselves up for the home court win.

"We out rebounded and out hustled them; our defense was on fire. Our goal is to keep conditioning, stay in shape through the break and get ready for St. Regis," said Jackson.

Brooke Jackson pulled down 15 rebounds, while Erica Cannon had 10, and Kara Christensen had seven. Christensen led for the Heat with 16 points, Jackson had seven and Cannon and Lilla Sapanel each had six.

HOT SPRINGS 60,

VALLEY CHRISTIAN 55

The Savage Heat boys beat the Eagles 60-55 in a nail-biter game.

Hot Springs was down by one after the first quarter, but was able to tie the game at 14 apiece in the second.Weston Slonaker hit a three pointer to propel the Heat into the lead, and brother Daniel added another later in the quarter to put Hot Springs ahead by one at the half.

Coming back from the half the Heat would gain a three-point shot to put more points between the teams. With just a minute left Valley Chrsitian was able to hit an outside three-pointer and a steal for a layup to take the lead heading into the final quarter. The teams would trade points and leads in the fourth until Daniel Slonaker was able to sink a three-pointer to put Hot Springs ahead by one. With a minute left, the Heat were able to capitalize off several rebounds to make their lead even larger and they would take the win at home.

"I am really happy with the team. They did a great job finishing the game, and adding another conference win to our belts is great," said head coach Mike Benson.