Lady Hawks notch another win over Florence-Carlton
A deadly combo is emerging on the courts for the Thompson Falls Lady Hawks so far this season.
And coupled with some quick guards who can also score, the Lady Hawks are looking good coming out of the gate.
Saturday night, in a game played in Anaconda, the Lady Hawks upped their record to 2-0 on the young season with a decisive 55-39 win over the Florence-Carlton Lady Falcons.
Leading the way for the Hawks were senior forwards Avery Burgess and Ellie Baxter, who scored 36 points between them, with a big helping hand from senior guard Chesney Lowe, who added several key baskets and kept Thompson Falls moving throughout the night.
The boys, meanwhile split a pair of games in Anaconda beating Great Falls Central 44-42 Friday, before falling to Florence-Carlton 51-39 Saturday night.
The girls scored the opening basket against the Lady Falcons Saturday and were up and running. Baxter scored eight points in the opening frame to go with six from Burgess as the Lady Hawks took a 16-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Flo-Car then rallied in the second quarter to pull with six points after falling behind 22-9 in the opening minutes of quarter number two. However, T Falls was able to weather the attack and hold on for a 26-21 halftime lead.
Lowe scored eight points in the third quarter to help the Lady Hawks expand their lead to 43-29 heading into the final eight minutes of play. With the T Falls swarming defense disrupting the Lady Falcons offensive plans, the Lady Hawks were able to hold on to their lead and secure the win.
Unofficially, Baxter had 23 points and Burgess had 13 to pace the Lady Hawks attack.
Lowe was also in double figures with 12 points on the night.
The T Falls boys, meanwhile, got off to an early lead against the Great Falls Central Mustangs Friday evening, then fought off several Mustangs’ rallies as they squeaked out the 44-42 win.
T Falls outscored Great Falls 15-9 in the first quarter behind an aggressive defense and scoring from several different players. The Mustangs won the second quarter 14-10 to leave the Hawks with a 25-23 halftime lead.
Both teams battled back and forth throughout the second half, with the Hawks clinging to a 33-32 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Hawks added one point to their lead during the final eight minutes to walk away with the 44-42 win.
Senior forward Jesse Claridge had 18 points to pace the Hawks, who raised their season record to 2-0 with the victory.
Things were different the next night when the Hawks took on Florence-Carlton. The Falcons used solid perimeter shooting and a stingy defense to grind out a 15-8 first quarter lead which they never relinquished.
In what turned out to be a steady parade of free throw shooters, the two teams mostly swapped charity throws in the second quarter, with FC building a narrow 27-22 lead at the half.
Defense was the name of the game in the third quarter as neither team could get a serious rally on track. The Falcons held a slim 35-32 lead at the end of the third quarter.
FC then got its offense going in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Hawks 16-7 to secure the 12-point margin of victory.
The loss dropped T Falls to 2-1 on the year.
Both T Falls teams travel to Troy this Thursday for games with the Trojans. They then return home this Friday night for a pair of home games with Sanders County rival Plains in Thompson Falls.