Thompson Falls wins two of three
As the recently departed Meatloaf sang, “two out of three ain’t bad”.
For the Thompson Falls Lady Hawks, the line fits well in describing their basketball fortunes last week.
The Lady Hawks opened the week with a disappointing 51-39 road loss to the Lady Lions in Eureka, then racked up a pair of convincing victories by beating Plains 67-14 at home last Tuesday, then going back on the road where they picked up a 60-19 win over the Libby Lady Loggers this past Thursday.
Against Eureka, which came into the game with a 6-2 overall record and a 3-1 mark in Western 7B conference action, things did not go well from the start for Thompson Falls.
The Eureka girls put a lid on the T Falls basket and applied defensive pressure that allowed them to leap out to a 16-3 advantage after one quarter of play.
Despite an outstanding scoring night from Ellie Baxter, the Lady Hawks could not overcome the early Libby lead and by halftime were still trailing 24-13.
Thompson Falls, which came into the game with a 4-1 conference mark and a 9-1 record overall traded baskets with the host team the rest of the way. They trailed 34-24 heading into the fourth quarter but could not overcome the Lions lead.
Baxter finished the night with a game-high 24 points, one better than Eureka’s Jaydyn Pluid who had 23.
The loss to Eureka was the second in a week for the previously 7-0 Lady Hawks, who were dismantled by conference leading Bigfork the week before.
As disappointing as the loss to Eureka was, there was nothing like a little home cooking the next night as T Falls waxed Sanders County rival Plains 67-14 in Thompson Falls.
This game was just what the doctor ordered for the Lady Hawks who exploded to a 14-1 first quarter lead, then blew the doors off the T Falls gym by outscoring the Trotters 37-4 in the second stanza to grab a 51-5 lead by halftime. With the Mercy Rule keeping the clock running nearly non-stop, the Lady Hawks continued to punish the Plains squad, holding them scoreless in the third quarter, which sent them into the final eight minutes of play trailing 55-5.
Baxter was once again the game’s leading scorer, pumping in 17 for T Falls. She got 11 points of help from junior Avery Burgess and 12 points from Maliyah LeCoure.
The Lady Hawks returned to the road last Thursday to take on the Libby Lady Loggers in Libby.
And once again the T Falls crew powered to a quick 20-7 first quarter lead, then upped it to 40-13 by halftime. Baxter was again on target all night as she poured in a game high 31 points to lead the T Falls rout.
The Lady Hawks were ahead 53-17 after three quarters of play as they coasted to their 10th win of the season.
Thompson Falls has a pair of home games this week, hosting winless Troy Friday night, then taking on Anaconda, also at home, Saturday.