Savage Heat girls keep up with Seeley

Hot Springs was back on their home court last Saturday, playing host to the Seeley Swan Blackhawks. The night ended in a loss for the boys and the girls, with the Savage Heat boys losing 64-45 and the girls 46-36.

After a slow start to scoring in the boys' game, an aggressive Seeley Swan team pulled away in the first quarter as the Savage Heat struggled with turnovers. Hot Springs would finally get on the board with two good free throws from senior Wesley Adams. The Hot Springs defense started to put pressure on the Blackhawks, but would struggle with a 21-6 deficit after the first quarter. The defense continued to gain momentum through the second quarter and the Savage Heat were down by just 10 points, 28-18 at halftime.

Despite the deficit, Hot Springs didn't give up in the second half and nearly outscored Seeley in the fourth quarter as freshman Chase DePoe sank two three-pointers and senior Weston Slonaker added one of his own, but the Blackhawks answered with three-pointers of their own and kept a solid lead the whole game.

Sophomore Ben Aldridge led the Savage Heat in scoring with 13 points, DePoe had 12, Adams 10, Nick McAllister six and Slonaker scored four points.

The Savage Heat girls lost by 10 to the Blackhawks, but Hot Springs was tough on both sides of the ball and made Seeley Swan work for every point. Brooke Jackson opened the scoring for Hot Springs in the first quarter with a three-pointer, one of two in the first eight minutes. The pressure from both teams kept the score tight and Seeley was up by just two points, 14-12, at the end of the first.

The second quarter was one of the most intense of all the games in Hot Springs on Saturday, with both teams matching baskets of the other as they traded leads. The score remained neck-and-neck at halftime with Seeley holding a one-point lead over Hot Springs, 23-22.

Seeley was able to gain momentum in the third quarter, outscoring the Savage Heat 9-2, but Hot Springs kept pressure on the Blackhawks and never let up. Though the Blackhawks would pull ahead and not let Hot Springs gain the lead again in the game, the determination showed in the Savage Heat right up until the final buzzer, when Hot Springs got a turnover and Kara Christensen took the ball down the court to sink a three-pointer in the last second of the game.

Junior Lilia Sapanel was determined under the basket, leading the Savage Heat with 16 points, while Jackson added 10 points, Christensen five, Callie Cano four and Kora Hensrude one point.

Hot Springs will see more conference foes this week. They traveled to Stillwater Christian on Tuesday and will play host to Alberton on Saturday.