Lady Hawks fight hard against Libby Lady Loggers
<p><strong>Gillian Nelson keeps pace with one of Libby’s players as they advance down the court.</strong></p>
THOMPSON FALLS – The Thompson Falls Lady Hawks tried to come from behind, falling just short of victory during their game against the Lady Loggers from Libby.
Both teams moved the ball well. The Lady Hawks opened the game with a strong defense as they kept the Lady Loggers at bay. The Libby players had a strong game as well, though, and brought in their own baskets. The first quarter closed with a tied score of 4-4. In the second quarter, the home team pushed to break the tie and brought in back to back baskets to push themselves ahead to 8-4; Libby started to pull back, thought, closing and pulling ahead. At halftime, the score was 14-15 with Libby in the lead.
The Lady Loggers opened the second half with a powerful defense. Their girls were able to intercept the ball in several plays; while the Lady Hawks tried to pull back, they were not able to overcome the opposing players. The third quarter ended with a score of 14-25. In the final quarter, Thompson Falls started pulling back as they pushed for the basket. Libby was still able to hold their lead, though, and kept the Lady Hawks back until the final buzzer. The game ended with a final score of 23-36 to Libby.
Head Coach Doree Thilmony felt they played a good first half, but ended up getting overpowered in the third. She said they were working hard and giving the game everything they had.
“Some of these girls don’t see a rest in the game,” she said. “We have a shallow bench and they are learning 32 minutes of basketball.”
On Saturday, the Thompson Falls girls traveled to Florence to play against the Lady Falcons. However, they were defeated with a final score of 40-56.
Thilmony recalled they had trouble in the first half; while they made some adjustments in the second, it was not quite enough. They played well, though, and the coach recalled it was their first time reaching 40 points in a game.
“The team stepped up and contributed the confidence,” Thilmony said. “Very proud of the girls looking to produce while they are in there.”