Going into the 2021-22 girls basketball season there were some important questions surrounding the Hot Springs Lady Savage Heat.

One of those, perhaps THE question was answered Friday evening at the Ronan Tip-off Event, where one of the region’s best girl basketball players was instrumental in leading Hot Springs to a 33-25 season opening win.

That player was senior forward Katelyn Christensen, whose season ended prematurely last year when she tore a ligament in her knee and missed most of the year.

But the slick moves were still there and the shot was still dropping as Christensen and her Savage Heat teammates dispatched of Lincoln in a hard-fought game on the Ronan court.

The next evening, Hot Springs put on a valiant effort but fell to event host Ronan JV, 35-26.

Christensen ended up scoring 11 points, second on the team behind sophomore Lauryn Aldridge’s 12, as Hot Springs fought to an early lead, 9-4 after the initial quarter, then held on for a rugged but welcome victory over the Lady Lynx.

Shaking off the season-ending injury and sporting a large knee brace, Christensen scored five points in the first quarter, including a three-pointer. Aldridge scored four points in the opening frame, mostly via her work under the basket.

And on defense, the Lady Savage Heat showed they can shut down an opponent by holding Lincoln to just three points in the second quarter while scoring six of their own. Heading into intermission, Hot Springs held a 15-7 lead.

Lincoln rallied to outscore the Heat 12-9 in the third quarter to cut the lead to five points with eight minutes to play.

However, it was not enough to overtake Hot Springs, which got a timely three-pointer from Josie Uski to help propel them to a 9-6 fourth quarter advantage and secure the win in their first outing of the year.

Saturday evening Hot Springs faced a bigger challenge when they took on the host Ronan JV squad that was fresh off a narrow win the day before over Plains.

In that contest, it was Ronan that jumped out to an early 9-4 first quarter lead behind an energetic defense that kept Hot Springs off balance.

In the second quarter, Christensen dropped in six points to keep things close, 11-10 midway through, before the Maidens went on a 7-0 run to end the quarter and secure a 17-10 lead at the half.

Hot Springs put together a solid rally in the third quarter as Christensen scored five points to pull the Savage Heat within one, 18-17. On their next possession the Heat went ahead on a two-pointer by freshman Brooke Jackson. The two teams traded hoops and free throws over the second half of the third quarter, which ended in a 24-24 tie.

That’s when the wheels fell off the bus for the Savage Heat, who were suddenly unable to penetrate the Ronan defense and could not find the range from outside. The Maidens would score eight quick points to pull ahead 32-24 before Hot Springs could counter with what proved to be their only basket of the final quarter.

The 11-2 scoring edge helped the Ronan JV team win the game and post a 2-0 mark in their own event.

Christensen led Hot Springs with an unofficial 15 points.

This week the Lady Savage Heat will host a pair of games in Hot Springs.