Lady Hawks claim two wins in three games
They almost pulled off the trifecta last week. Unfortunately for the Thompson Falls Lady Hawks basketball team, a three-game sweep was not in the cards.
However, they began the week with a pair of impressive wins, including a conference triumph Thursday over Mission, 55-43. That win followed a road walloping of Stillwater Christian, 82-35, to open the week Tuesday night in Kalispell.
The game against Stillwater Christian was all Thompson Falls from the start. The Lady Hawks exploded to a 21-10 first quarter lead and never looked back. By halftime the score stood 44-18.
Things did not get any better for Stillwater in the second half as Thompson Falls utilized its superior size, depth and speed to build a 57-29 lead entering the final eight minutes of play.
Four Lady Hawks scored in double figures against Stillwater, topped by Riley Wilson’s 17 points. She was joined in double figures by Elli Pardee with 15, Megan Baxter with 14, and senior forward Jody Detlaff's 13 points.
Two nights later in St. Ignatius, the Lady Hawks kept the week’s win streak alive in a much closer contest with the Lady Bulldogs.
Senior post Megan Baxter led the way for Thompson Falls against the Mission girls, scoring a game-best 23 points in helping secure the Western 7B conference victory.
Thompson Falls was pretty much in control of the game from the first quarter, but the gritty Lady Bulldogs kept it from being a runaway.
At the end of the first quarter Thompson Falls held a slim 10-7 lead that would grow slightly in the second quarter to produce a 22-13 halftime lead for the Lady Hawks.
With Baxter controlling the inside game that lead proved to be enough for the Lady Hawks to enable them to pick up their fourth conference win of the season.
Both teams traded scores almost evenly in the second half, with Thompson Falls having enough to hold onto its lead and extend it by three points over the final two quarters of play.
The win gave the Lady Hawks a 4-1 conference record as the teams head into the second half of the virus-shortened season.
After picking up a pair of wins earlier in the week, the Lady Hawks hit the road and ran into an upset-minded Seeley-Swan team, which is unbeaten in Class C play this year.
After getting off to a good start and emerging with a 16-10 first quarter lead, Seeley’s Lady Blackhawks began fighting back behind a balanced scoring attack. One of a few teams around with the height to match Thompson Falls, the Lady Blackhawk closed the scoring gap to two points, 29-27 at halftime.
The game featured a battle underneath between Thompson’s 6-1 senior post Megan Baxter and Seeley’s 6-1 senior standout Klaire Kovatch. Baxter outscored Kovatch 18-7 for the game, but both seniors were their usual solid inside presence.
The host Blackhawks took the lead in the third quarter where they out-pointed Thompson Falls 14-7. Entering the fourth quarter, Seeley held a 41-36 lead.
Both teams matched each other in scoring over the final eight minutes of play, as Seeley had enough to hold onto its narrow lead and take the home court win.
The week’s action left Thompson Falls with a 5-2 overall mark on the season and a 4-1 conference record. Seeley is unbeaten through five games this year.
Ahead for the Lady Blackhawks is a home game Friday against Troy, then a road outing the next evening to Anaconda to take on the Lady Copperheads in a conference matchup.