Blue Hawks stay perfect, earn top seed

Momentum prior to a playoff tournament is often crucial for teams hoping to advance to the state basketball finals.

In the Class B ranks, most specifically the Western 7B District, the boys’ and girls’ teams from Thompson Falls are riding the momentum train. 

With District tournament play getting underway this weekend in St. Ignatius, the two T Falls entrants rolled through the second half of the season and nailed down top seeds as a result. 

Both teams picked up a pair of wins this past weekend in the final week of the regular season. The Blue Hawks boys knocked off conference foe Troy 48-38 Thursday evening in Troy, then took to their home court and upended Superior 69-56. 

The Lady Hawks, meanwhile, defeated the same two opponents as the boys, blasting Troy 76-38, then pulling out a 54-39 win Saturday in T Falls. 

The wins gave the boys a 10-0 regular season finish, good for first place and the District’s top seed in this weekend’s tournament. 

Not to be outdone by the boys, the Lady Hawks moved their 7B record to 9-1, one win better than St. Ignatius, giving the T Falls girls top seed and the regular season title. 

The boys' wins this past weekend were their tenth in a row, while the girls wound up the regular season on a 9-1 streak over their past 10 games. 

Troy, which has a much-improved boys' team this season, battled the Blue Hawks to a 12-12 stalemate after one quarter of play in Troy.  But T Falls amped up its defensive pressure in the second quarter, held the Trojans to seven points and scored 13 of their own to pull ahead 25-19 at the half. 

Standout senior forward Bryson LeCoure fueled the second quarter surge with six points in the quarter, part of his game-high 23 points. 

T Falls added four more points to its lead in the third quarter, then played Troy straight up in the fourth to clinch the 10-point win. 

The Hawks outrebounded Troy 41-35, led by nine carroms each from Owen Doyle and Sam Burgess.  LeCoure and Ethan Burgess snared eight boards each for the winners. 

Saturday night on their home court, the Blue Hawks opened a 17-9 lead on Superior after one quarter of play.  They then erupted for 24 points in the second quarter while limiting Superior to 11, giving the home team a commanding 41-20 halftime advantage. 

T Falls tacked four more points onto their lead in the third quarter, boosting their lead to 60-35 heading into the final quarter of play. 

Superior, playing without sophomore post Landon Richards, who injured an ankle earlier in the week and watched this one from the sideline, went into rally mode in the fourth quarter.  The Bobcats outscored T Falls 21-9 over the last eight minutes of play, but they could not overcome the big Blue Hawks’ lead from earlier in the game. 

The Blue Hawks got double-figure points from four players, topped by senior guard Kaiden Robins and Owen Doyle, who scored 15 each.  LeCoure added 14 points to the Hawks’ total, while Sam Burgess contributed 10. 

Superior sophomore Gannon Quinlan led all scorers with 20 points for the Bobcats.  He was joined in double-figure scoring by Logan Merrill (14 points) and Phin Cataldo (13) 

The T Falls girls had a much easier time in their Thursday night encounter with Troy, exploding for 33 first quarter points, then outscoring Troy 10-2 in the second quarter to take a 43-16 halftime lead. 

The Lady Hawks went on to outscore Troy 33-22 in the second half as they coasted to the conference victory. 

Junior Gabi Hannum led a double-figures quartet of Lady Hawks with 16 points, while Addy Deal and Annalise Fairbank had 13 each and Solveig Nygaard added 10 for the winners. 

Saturday in T Falls, the Lady Hawks emerged from the first quarter of their game versus Superior, leading the Lady Bobcats 14-9. 

T Falls extended their lead in the second quarter, outscoring the visitors 18-8 to take a 32-17 halftime advantage. 

The Lady Hawks and Lady Cats fought to a 22-22 stalemate in the second half as T Falls held on for the 15-point conference win. 

Hannum was again the leading scorer, tossing in a game-high 21 for T Falls. Deal added 14 points and Nygaard chipped in 13 for the winners. 

Superior was led by standout senior forward Braelynn Mangold, who had 12 points on the night. 

The District 7B tournament gets underway this weekend in St. Ignatius, bringing all six conference teams to the Mission High basketball court. 

    Thompson Falls forward Gabi Hannum (left) battles Superior's Maggie Haworth for a loose ball during their game this past Saturday in T Falls.  (Tracy Scott, Valley Press)
  

    Thompson Falls' Ethan Burgess (white) tries to get a shot over the outstretched hands of Superior's Logan Merrill during their game Saturday in Thompson Falls.  (Tracy Scott, Valley Press)

    Thompson Falls junior Gabi Hannum goes airborne to break up a Superior Lady Bobcats' pass during their game Saturday in Thompson Falls.  (Tracy Scott, Valley Press)