Heat girls punch tickets to Western C
JOHN HAMILTON | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 months, 3 weeks AGO
HOT SPRINGS FRESHMAN Dakota Slonaker shoots the ball as Makenzie Reum and Maggie Howarth of Superior defend in Polson Friday. (John Hamilton/vp-mi)
The Hot Springs Lady Savage Heat are going to Butte this week, just like they planned all along.
Coach Brady Ovitt and his Savage Heat earned their spots in this week’s Western C divisional tournament to be played at the Maroon Activity Center in Butte Wednesday through Saturday by winning third place in the District 14C tournament in Polson last week.
Opening the tourney with a 57-23 win over Alberton Thursday, the Heat fell 59-51 to Superior in a hotly contested semifinal Friday before coming back to clinch their Western C bid by first defeating Two Eagle River 52-31 in loser out play Saturday morning before coming back Saturday afternoon and easing past St. Regis 38-33 in the 14C consolation game.
Attaining their season goal of reaching the Western C, the Heat will play Manhattan Christian at 3 p.m. Wednesday with the winner of that game earning a date with District 13C champion Drummond at 3 p.m. Thursday.
The top two finishing teams from the Western C then move on to the State C tournament in Missoula March 12-14.
Kara Christensen led the Savage Heat in the semifinal loss to Superior with 18 points, Callie Cano scored nine points, Kora Hensrude eight, Eleanor Massey six, and Dakota Slonaker and Makenzie Johnson five apiece.
In the consolation game with St. Regis, Christensen scored 10 points to again pace the Heat, Cano and Kora Hensrude added with each, Massey and Slonaker five apiece and Ziah Hensrude two.
ARTICLES BY JOHN HAMILTON
Hawks compete at fast and furious Archie Roe meet
Serious fast and furious; that’s the way the action rolls at the prestigious Archie Roe Meet in Kalispell.
Hawks await playoff fate
The playoff fate of the Blue Hawks is in the hands of others as Northern conference teams head into the final week of regular season play, but you won’t find coach Jared Koskela and his scrappy young squad fretting about it. They just want to play another day, whichever way they have to do that.
Local excel in Gary Thompson Invitational
It wasn’t originally scheduled to go down this way, but the 2026 Gary Thompson Invitational was held at River’s Bend outside of Thompson Falls May 5, and local players dotted the leader board at tourney’s end.