Lady Hawks go to OT

KALISPELL – The Thompson Falls Lady Hawks battled through the Western B Divisional Tournament in Kalispell last week.

After dropping their opening game of the tournament to Loyola Sacred Heart, 49-44, the Lady Hawks responded in an elimination game against Florence last Thursday.

Going into the tournament Thompson Falls Head Coach Courtney Burky stressed to her team the wide-open nature of this year’s tournament.

“We put a point of emphasis that it was anybody’s tournament,” Burky said.  

The Thompson Falls Lady Hawks downed the Florence team, winning 60-47 to keep their consolation hopes alive.

The Lady Hawks jumped out to an early 17-11 lead in the first quarter, but Florence kept pace with the Thompson Falls offense in the second quarter, and the game went to halftime with the Lady Hawks leading 32-29.

Nonetheless, the second half belonged to the Lady Hawks and Thompson Falls outscored Florence in the third and fourth quarters to stay alive in tournament play.

Junior Shey Hannum led Thompson Falls on offense, ending the game with 21 points.

Senior Logan Beckman had 14 points of her own in the win over Florence.   

Following the win, the Lady Hawks were matched up with the Ronan Maidens, in a competitive contest where extra time was ultimately needed to determine a winner.

Combined the two teams committed over 50 fouls, forcing a plethora of free throw opportunities for both squads.

The Lady Hawks had the early advantage in the elimination game, going up 15-8 to start things off.

Thompson Falls kept the lead over the Maidens in the second quarter of play, outscoring Ronan 13-12 to send the game to halftime with a 28-20 lead.

The Lady Hawks kept up their eight-point lead through the third quarter, where both teams posted ten points of offensive output.

Both offenses went on runs in the game’s final quarter of regulation but it was Ronan, who launched the late rally, outscoring the Lady Hawks 24-16 in the fourth, to push the game into extra time with the score knotted at 54.

In overtime, Ronan narrowly outscored the Lady Hawks 11-7 to earn the 65-61 win and advance further into the consolation bracket.

Against Ronan Hannum put up big numbers for the Lady Hawks, ending the season finale with 25 points.

Beckman also had a solid night on offense, scoring 18 points against Ronan.

Burky noted she was pleased with how her team played in the tournament.

“They really came to play. All three games we played, we played well. There is nothing more I could have asked,” Burky said.

Burky was also impressed with the resilience of her team throughout the season, overcoming injuries to make it into the divisional tournament.

“The team had a lot of injuries and circumstances to overcome this year. We had to put together a new bench during the season,” Burky said.