T-Falls girls ramp up for state tourney
Thompson Falls coach Chadd Laws says the TEAM concept is what makes this year's state championships bound team special and he likes their chances. (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)
One thing you can’t help but notice when entering the gym at Thompson Falls High School for a girls basketball game or practice.
It’s the voice that booms and resonates across the gym and the rapt attention the players have to it.
For the source of the voice, T-Falls girls basketball coach Chadd Laws, this year’s girls basketball team is what fans have come to expect...headed for some form of post season playoff.
This year’s Lady Hawks will be heading Thursday to Bozeman and the Fieldhouse on the Montana State University campus for a shot at the State Class B championship after another successful regular season, District and Divisional playoff run.
For Lewis, a long-time area coach whose teams routinely shine, the reason for this year’s run to State is simple.
“The key factor in our making the trip to state is the TEAM concept,” he said. It sounds clique but it is true. The contributions of each player and coach were vital to our preparations this past week. We had a rough District tournament, the TEAM regrouped, and we got back to our foundation and our overall belief system.”
For the Lady Hawks, that means solid fundamental play to go with a plethora of heart. Along with a heaping helping of hard work.
Despite falling to Western 7B nemesis Bigfork in last week’s Divisional final, the Lady Hawks earned the number two seed from 7B and the trip to the state finals which goes with it.
They will open play this Thursday at 5 p.m. against Harlem, a Northern Division school that made it into the field despite a 6-12 overall record. To reach the Northern Final, the Lady Wildcats knocked off Fairfield and Cut Bank before losing to Northern champ Malta 53-40 this past weekend.
Thompson Falls, which enters state play with a 16-8 season mark, had a rougher time in the early playoff rounds.
They lost to Eureka and St. Ignatius in District play, sandwiched around a blow-out win over Plains to qualify fourth and capture the 7B fourth seed at Divisionals. They regrouped to win their first two games at the Western 7B Divisional playoff tournament in Ronan before losing to Bigfork 45-26 in the title game.
The about face from District to Divisionals is testimony to the grit and determination of this year’s team, Laws said.
“To come back from a fourth place finish in Districts and then knock off Loyola and Eureka was testatment to their will and their dedication to our game plan,” Laws said of his team qualifying for the State finals. “I love each member of our team”.
If the Lady Hawks win their opening game against Harlem, they would face the winner of the match-up between Colstrip and Glasgow. Colstrip enters state play with a sparkling 22-1 record, their only loss of the season coming to Jefferson of Boulder in a December game.
Glasgow has 16-8 season record, identical to that of the Lady Hawks.
Laws said Jefferson, Big Timber and Bigfork loom as the favorites to win it all this year, but he likes the Lady Hawks chances.
“I look at Jefferson, Big Timber and Bigfork to be the favorites, but I’m betting on the Lady Hawks,” Laws said. “One game at a time and as long as we don’t get ahead of ourselves, we can compete with anyone. In tournaments, anything can happen and it usually does.”
Laws said he credits defense and rebounding by the team, which has been led most of the season by 5-10 junior Ellie Baxter, senior Maliyah LeCoure and junior Avery Burgess. The entire roster, he adds, has contributed to their success overall.
“This is a special team, they believe in each other, they respect each other and they know and accept their roles. I may have had more talented teams with overall individual skills, like my team in 2006 that went to state, but this is a special team.
“They have bought into our philosophy. This is just a special team”.