The last couple weeks of the season are often about getting ready for the playoffs.

The playoffs, in the form of the District 14C boys and girls basketball tournament, have arrived beginning this week in Polson.

And it appears that both St. Regis teams are rounding into playoff form based on their results from this past week.

The Lady Tigers picked up a pair of victories this past weekend, beating Victor at home, 68-47 on a historic evening for senior forward Macy Hill. That victory followed a 63-37 road win over the Valley Christian Lady Eagles.

The boys opened the weekend with a narrow 43-41 loss to Valley Christian in Missoula as the young crop of players got some solid varsity experience in the absence of the Tigers’ number two scorer and rebounding force, John Pruitt, who has been sidelined the past four weeks with a broken bone in his right hand.

The Tigers shook off the Friday loss with a resounding win over injury-rattled Victor, 68-47, as both boys and girls team get ready for the District meet this week.

Saturday night, which was senior night for the school’s seven basketball playing upper classmen, the Lady Tigers fought to a 15-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. In the early moments of the quarter, Hill buried a three-pointer from the top of the arc for point number 1,000 in her highly successful time as a Lady Tiger.

She was given a long, standing ovation as fans and players held placards with “1,000” on them in tribute to her achievement. Hill has long been a fan favorite with her hustle, ability and positive ukp tempo approach to the game.

When play resumed following the pause, Hill and crew began to dominate the backboards behind the play of junior Amelya Jensen and sophomore Avery Burnham. They built a slim 30-27 lead at halftime, then broke the game open in the third quarter.

With speedy point guard Shylah Dalka passing and scoring while directing the offense, the Lady Tigers outscored the visiting Lady Pirates 28-9 in the third quarter to take a 58-36 lead heading into the final eight minutes of play.

The teams played even up in the fourth quarter as St. Regis cruised to the victory. Hill led a foursome of Lady Tigers racking up double figures in points with a game-best 22 tallies. Also scoring in double digits were senior Bailey Hutchinson with 13, and Dalka and Burnham with 10 each. Jensen added nine points to the St. Regis cause.

The win lifted St. Regis to 11-7 on the year in their last regular season game. The Lady Tigers are 6-6 in 14C play and will face Hot Springs in the first round of the tournament this Thursday.

The Lady Tigers began their week with a comfortable road win over Valley Christian. After the Lady Eagles took a 13-10 first quarter lead, St. Regis took control and outscored the home team 18-5 in quarter number two to post a 28-18 halftime lead.

St. Regis remained in control the rest of the game, adding 16 points to their lead in the second half to sew up the victory. Burnham, a 5-10 forward, scored a game-high 22 points for the Lady Tigers, most of them from underneath the basket. St. Regis also got 18 points from Hill and 14 from Dalka.

The St. Regis boys found themselves locked in a tight battle with Victor’s boys early on in their game Saturday in St. Regis, leading 12-9 at the end of the first quarter.

With Ball and the impressive group of sophomores, ninth and eighth graders picking up the defensive pressure in the second quarter, St. Regis outscored Victor 11-4 on their way to a 23-13 lead at the intermission.

Sophomore guard Hunter Stolla drilled a trio of long distance threes in the second half when the Tigers pulled away from the Pirates, outscoring them 28-14 in the second half.

Ball led all scorers with 20 points on a night he was recognized for his recent school scoring record as he nears 1,500 career points.

Stolla also scored in double figures for St. Regis, contributing 10 points to the Tigers’ cause.

The non-conference win boosted St. Regis to 15-3 on the year heading into District play this week. St. Regis is paired with winless Alberton in the first round, set for 12:15 Thursday afternoon. The winner of the game will take on the winner of a match between Two Eagle River and Hot Springs, with that game scheduled for Friday at 3:15 pm.

St. Regis began their week with the narrow 2-point loss to Valley Christian. The home standing Eagles flew out to a 14-5 first quarter lead, then traded baskets with St. Regis in the second quarter.

At half time, the score was 23-14 in favor of Valley Christian.

The Eagles added one more point to their lead in the third quarter, then held on as St. Regis rallied in the fourth by outscoring the Eagles 17-9, but Victor had enough to hold off the Tigers and pick up the non-conference victory.

Ball and eighth grader Conner Lulis scored 16 each to pace the Tigers’ effort.

Meanwhile, St. Regis head coach Jesse Allan said Pruitt’s availability for the District tournament will be determined by a medical exam this Wednesday, with a fair chance the junior power forward may be cleared to play.