With Covid once again rearing its ugly head, athletic directors have had to get creative to keep their boys and girls basketball teams playing.

When a scheduled pair of games against Noxon was postponed due to a severe outbreak of the virus in Red Devil land, Hot Springs went looking for a team to play and found the Flathead Valley Home School Crusaders.

Also sometimes called Stillwater Christian, the Crusaders were up for a trip to Hot Springs and the games last Thursday were on.

For the Lady Savage Heat, the game was a blessing in disguise as the improving Hot Springs crew came away with a 50-45 win that went down to the final minute of play.

On a night when Savage Heat star Katelyn Christensen was on target, the Lady Heat had enough to hold off several Crusaders’ rallies and secure their third win of the season, albeit non-conference.

The two evenly matched teams battled to a 14-14 tie after one quarter of play. With Christensen hitting from all over the court, they managed to scratch out a narrow 26-23 lead at the half. On this night Christensen got help from the entire team, including eight points from Josie Uski and six from Brooke Jackson.

By the end of three quarters of play, Hot Springs was in front 38-30. Flathead Home School would end up outscoring the Lady Heat 15-12 over the final eight minutes of play, but Hot Springs held off all their rallies and went on to pick up the 50-45 victory.

The win boosted the Savage Heat to 3-6 on the year.

Christensen led all scorers with 24 points on the night.

Then it was the boys turn.

Fresh off a their hard-fought loss to rival St. Regis in a much-ballyhooed battle for first place in the conference, the boys were looking for a positive note to close out the week.

They found the answer in the boys version of the Crusaders, who fought hard but could not match the speed and athleticism of the Savage Heat, who picked up a 56-41 victory on their home court.

Hot Springs squeaked out a 15-13 lead at the end of a back-and-forth first quarter where both teams fought for rebounds and dove to the court for loose balls.

Slowly, behind the play of Jack McAllister and juniors Nathan Lawhead and Garth Parker, the Savage Heat managed to assert their superiority in rebounding during the second eight minutes of action.

By halftime the home town Heat held a narrow 25-20 lead. Lawhead and Parker controlled the glass and accounted for several put-back baskets that choked off several Flathead rallies. With one quarter to play, the Heat were in front 39-33.

They used their defensive pressure and run and gun style of play to put the game out of reach over the final quarter on their way to the 14-point margin of victory.

The win improved Hot Springs to 6-3 on the year.

Both Hot Springs teams will travel to Superior this Friday night for a pair of games with the Bobcats. They then return home for a Saturday night encounter with St. Regis.