Thompson Falls boys & girls suffer losses to Bigfork, Deer Lodge

It would be fair to call last week’s schedule for the Thompson Falls varsity boys’ basketball team the most difficult week of the regular season. After all, the Bluehawks were facing Class B teams ranked No. 1 and No. 5 in Montana.

Top-ranked and defending state champion Bigfork took its frustration of losing its first game in two seasons to Deer Lodge (Powell County) 49-47 last Saturday out on Thompson Falls — in a big way. The Vikings scored the game’s first 12 points and manufactured a 24-7 first-quarter lead. It was a 34-9 bulge at halftime, and Bigfork cruised to a 63-31 District 7B non-conference victory last Thursday.

Deer Lodge kept rolling, but had to get by a strong challenge by the Bluehawks on Saturday, and the Wardens earned a 46-35 win.

Numbers often tell the tale in basketball, and they did in the Thompson Falls-Bigfork game. The Bluehawks suffered 27 turnovers and collected only 19 rebounds in the loss.

Bigfork 6-foot-4 senior Logan Gilliard played a huge role early, scoring 13 of his game-high 29 points in the opening quarter.

“They’re very good,” T-Falls head coach Jake Mickelson said of the Vikings. “Logan Gilliard is a big part of it. He’s kind of a man against boys sometimes. They hurt you in a lot of ways. They get up and down the court.”

Many of the Bluehawks’ 27 turnovers were attributed to Bigfork’s pressure.

Grant Lundberg led T-Falls with 17 points, going 4-for-5 on 3-pointers. He blocked three shots.

T-FALLS WOULD not let Deer Lodge pull away in Saturday’s game, trailing 15-10 after one quarter and 26-17 at halftime.

The Bluehawks were within 35-32 early in the final period, but the Wardens hit a 3-pointer and finished the game on an 11-3 run.

“We had a couple of new wrinkles in there,” Mickelson said, compared to the Bigfork game two nights earlier. “We just didn’t put the ball in the hole. Our defense was great. We had some opportunities to take a win and we didn’t convert … I’m proud of our kids’ effort.”

T-Falls had only seven turnovers in the first half, and finished with 18 for the contest.

Mickelson had praise for Bluehawks junior guard Ryan Schraeder, who had six steals and five points.

“Ryan was an animal. He has a motor that doesn’t stop,” Mickelson said. “He’s undersized at 5-7. He’s down with the trees (in the lane) a lot. He’s pretty physical.”

Jaden Isaac, just a freshman, led T-Falls with 13 points. Sophomore Kade Pardee added 11. Lundberg had three blocked shots.

T-Falls is 2-1 in District 7B play and was 2-7 overall going into Tuesday’s game at Class C Noxon. The Bluehawks play Class C Clark Fork on Friday in Superior. Both varsity boys’ games tip off around 7:15 p.m.

THOMPSON FALLS GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

It’s a “work in progress” for Thompson Falls in girls’ basketball this season, as they’re working overtime to trim down turnovers committed in their games.

The Lady Hawks fell behind home-standing Bigfork 14-6 after one quarter and trailed 31-19 at halftime, and the Valkyries went on to post a 61-33 District 7B win last Friday.

It was a similar pattern in Saturday’s district encounter with Powell County in Thompson Falls, as the team from Deer Lodge manufactured a 17-point lead by the end of three periods and took home a 66-36 victory.

“We turned the ball over a little more than we should have,” T-Falls head coach Doree Thilmony admitted, as her team finished with 34 giveaways. Bigfork was quite adept at reading Lady Hawk passes, collecting 18 steals. The Valkyries scored 23 points after T-Falls turnovers.

“They had a dribble-drive offense that caught us off-guard,” Thilmony said.

T-Falls fared well on the boards, outrebounding Bigfork, 52-31. The Lady Hawks worked hard for 24 offensive boards.

Megan Baxter led T-Falls in that department, grabbing 17 rebounds to go along with 15 points for a nice double-double.

Jody Detlaff had seven boards and four steals. Maya Stiles had a pair of assists.

Ansleigh Edgerton led a balanced Bigfork attack with 14 points. Jordan Nelson followed with 13, and Meredith Bedford netted 11.

At the free-throw line, T-Falls was 7-for-18 and Bigfork 13-for-25.

THILMONY SAID she made some adjustments to reduce turnovers for the Deer Lodge game.

“We incorporated a new press-break and that helped a little,” the coach said. “The more pressure we see the more comfortable we’ll be (in ball-handling and passing).”

T-Falls had 24 turnovers, down by a dozen from the night before. However, Deer Lodge had 24 points off Lady Hawk turnovers.

There was quite a disparity at the foul line, as Deer Lodge was 25-for-36 and T-Falls just 4-for-14.

Baxter again controlled the boards, collecting 21 rebounds. She netted 15 points for her second double-double of the weekend. Detlaff had nine points before fouling out. Faith Frield had three steals, and Stiles had three assists.

The Lady Hawks won the board battle, 38-35.

T-Falls has a 1-2 record in District 7B games, and takes a 2-8 overall record into games against a pair of Class C teams this week on the road. The Lady Hawks were to play Tuesday (Jan. 15) at Noxon, and against Clark Fork on Friday in Superior. Varsity girls’ game time is 5:30 p.m. Friday.