Hard work earns Lady Hawks win

They say hard work is its own virtue, but sometimes that hard work provides some fringe benefits as well – like big, late-season wins.

The surging Lady Hawks won their second game in the last two weeks over a Class B opponent in Thompson Falls Friday, knocking off the Troy Lady Trojans 45-43, after defeating Mission at TFHS a week earlier.

Buoyed by their recent successes, coach Doree Thilmony and her Lady Hawks make their way to Ronan this week for the Western B divisional tournament, where the top two teams will earn berths in to the State B tourney in Missoula March 8-10.

As the No. 4 seed from District 7B, the Lady Hawks will face 6B’s No. 1 Florence Falcons at 11:20 a.m. in the first round of the Western B Thursday.

“I feel like all the girls’ hard work is starting to pay off,” Thilmony said. “I told the girls before the game that the team that wanted it more would win, and they went out and got it.”

Thilmony said the Hawks endured some tense moments in the late going, but that Troy’s Allie Coldwell misfired on a 3-pointer at the buzzer to seal the deal in Thompson Falls’ favor.

“We were a little tight there at the end, missed a few free throws down the stretch,” she said, “but were able to hold on. It’s a very big win for us though, that’s for sure.”

Double double machine Megan Baxter, one of the best freshmen playing in the Western B ranks this season, led the Hawks to the win with 19 points and 17 rebounds in addition to passing out two assists and grabbing two steals.

Another high-flying frosh, Jody Detlaff scored seven points and secured 12 rebounds, senior Haley Morgan added seven points, four assists and four rebounds, Sarah Detlaff five points and three rebounds, Maya Stiles four points, four steals and two assists, Faith Frields two points and Riley Wilson a point and three rebounds.

Although she did not score, Belle Cooper contributed three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Coldwell poured in a game-high 26 points to pace Troy and Kaitlyn Downey added seven.

Thilmony says she and her team are looking forward to the Western B in Ronan.

“We are excited to get a taste of tournament play, especially with having four or five freshmen who will get to experience it for the first time,” she said. “If we can do two things well against Florence – play good defense on their best players and take care of the ball when we have it – we should be right in that game.

“It is a new season and everyone is 0-0 again,” she added. “Any team can be beaten, hopefully we can prove that this week.”