Lady Hawks open season with rout of Troy

There was little question of which team would win the game not long into the first quarter.

The highly regarded Class B Thompson Falls squad built an 18-1 first quarter lead in their game with Troy Saturday evening on their way to an overwhelming 67-10 win in the season basketball opener for both squads.

The Baxter girls, Ellie and Megan, scored six points each as the Lady Hawks took flight and never looked back in the opening eight minutes of play.

Troy’s lone point in the first quarter came on a free throw by Jayden Leigthy…and it didn’t get much better after that.

Ellie Baxter scored nine points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in the second quarter as Thompson Falls outscored Troy 22-4 on their way to a 40-5 halftime advantage.

By then Lady Hawk non-starters were getting some good minutes on the court.

Troy had its best quarter of the game in the third frame when they scored five points. Unfortunately for them, the Lady Blue Hawks scored 14, including another 3-pointer from Ellie Baxter and four points from senior forward Jody Detlaff.

Heading into the final eight minutes of play, the Lady Trojans found themselves trailing 54-10.

Things actually got worse for the Lady Trojans, who were facing a talented and deep Thompson Falls team, coached by Chadd Laws.

Troy held the Lady Hawks to a game-low 13 points in the fourth quarter, but they could not score on the offensive side. Thompson Falls’ defense pitched a shutout on the way to the 67-10 final score.

Ellie Baxter finished the game with a team and game-high 21 points. Megan Baxter and Detlaff added 10 each to the Lady Hawk cause, in which nine players scored for the Thompson squad.

Troy had three players with three points each for the game.

Coach Laws knows there are tougher games just ahead.

“We played well on defense,” Laws said. “And we rebounded well. Troy is a really young team. Mission and Eureka are two really good teams. Eureka played defending state champion Loyola to 12 points on the road. Mission got a huge win versus Class A Ronan (this past weekend). We know we will have two very competitive games this week.”

Next on the schedule for the Lady Hawks is a home game against Mission Friday, Jan. 8, followed by another home contest versus Eureka Saturday afternoon.