The Plains Horsemen finished what can be characterized as a rebuilding year at the divisional tournament, losing both of their matchups at Pablo.

The Horsemen opened the divisional tournament against Anaconda, losing 58-22. The Copperheads would score two buckets before Plains got on the board. Anaconda took control of the game and were up 18-4. In the second quarter, the Horsemen had a surge of energy as they put up four points before Anaconda sank a three-pointer to take back the momentum. The Copperheads were unstoppable and strengthened their lead to 36-10 by halftime.

"We had watched film on Anaconda as a team prior to the tournament and thought we could compete with them," said Coach Tyrel Allen, "but we had too many turnovers and didn't shoot well."

The second half was much of the same for the teams as Anaconda maintained the lead, achieving a running clock against Plains in the fourth quarter. Plains stayed in the game and didn't give up, however, with Konrad Maicher gaining a basket and drawing a foul to stay in the game with one minute left. The teams showed incredible sportsmanship to each other as the Horsemen looked toward their next opponent in the tournament.

Senior Aden West led the Horsemen with nine points against Anaconda, Pablo Hernandez scored three, Darren Standeford and Zayden Allen added two each and Jacob Lulack, Konrad Maicher, Anaya Loberg and Zephaniah Dines one each.

Friday morning, the Horsemen faced the Arlee Warriors, who had lost to the Eureka Lions on Thursday by just one point. Arlee would take the win 82-53.

Arlee put points on the board early against the Horsemen, but the Horsemen were determined to put up a good fight in the loser-out matchup.

The Horsemen were on the trail of the Warriors in the first quarter, maintaining just a four-point deficit for much of the time and getting within one point in the quarter. Arlee pulled away in the final moments and the Warriors ended the first quarter up 22-13.

Though Arlee was able to increase their lead in the second quarter, Plains didn't make it easy for them. The Warriors were able to take the lead 37-17 going into halftime.

In the second half Plains worked to get more points on the board, but turnovers helped the Warriors intensify their lead.

Annie Wooden

Darren Standeford takes a shot against Anaconda.

The Horsemen showed marked improvement in the 2023-24 season. After winning just three games the prior year, Plains ended this season with 14 wins, nine losses.

Coach Allen said his team improved their on-court chemistry over the season. "That was a big improvement. You could see there was trust in guys to take shots and they were getting the ball to the right place," he explained. Allen said the plan in the offseason is to get more experience with his players, but he was proud of his team for making it to the divisional level. "For them being at divisional for the first time ever and playing in a gym like that and getting that experience is really valuable. Hopefully we can build on that next year," Allen said.