Lady Hawks head into last battle

The Lady Hawks are heading into one last battle before tournament time. The Hawks will play host to Bigfork Saturday for senior night.

The Hawks traveled to Mission last Thursday, falling 53-38 to the Bulldogs. The Hawks fought hard in Mission, but felt the impact of not having starters Megan Baxter and Faith Frields, who were both out with injuries, on the court.

“They contribute in points and leadership on the court, and experience, so we were lacking some of that,” Lady Hawk Coach Doree Thilmony said. The Hawks were down 37-23 after three quarters and rallied for 15 points in the fourth. Despite those efforts, Thompson couldn’t keep up with the Bulldogs.

“Turnovers plagued us that game,” Thilmony said, noting that the team racked up 37 turnovers against Mission. “We try to achieve 20 or less.”

With two starters out, Thilmony relied on other teammates who come up for a couple quarters from the junior varsity squad to help out the varsity team. She said that freshman Caity Alexander did just that. “She went out there and said, ‘I’m going to do what I can with the time I have,’” Thilmony said. Alexander came out with two steals that she turned into points for the Hawks. “She ended up being the second leading score with the minimum amount of time,” Thilmony said.

Jody Detlaff led the Lady Hawks with 17 points. “She’s definitely put in a spot on our offense to score,” Thilmony said, noting that Detlaff also led the team with 15 rebounds. Six of those were offensive rebounds, offering Detlaff another chance to score for the Hawks. Riley Wilson and Sarah Detlaff added four points apiece in Mission, and Abbi Lane and Elli Pardee each added two points. Addison Arlint led the Bulldogs with 13 points and Azia Umphrey scored 10.

With the division tournament a week away (Feb. 21-23 in Ronan), Thilmony is working to build the team’s confidence. “They need to know that they can step on that court and compete with these teams,” she said, adding that the Hawks will probably meet Loyola in the first round of the divisional tournament. “We could meet Eureka or Anaconda again. Those are teams that we can beat,” she said. “When it comes to tournament time, records are 0-0 and anyone can win the game.”