The new Lady Hawk hoop reality

HAMILTON – Call it the new Lady Hawk basketball reality.

It's a brave new world where winning games on a regular basis and competing for post-season glory is the rule and not the exception.

Playing exceptional basketball, just like they have all season, the rejuvenated Lady Hawks won third place in the Western B divisional tournament in Hamilton last week, capping an encouraging season with an impressive 19-5 record, the District 7B regular season and tournament championships, and perhaps more importantly, the respect of their opponents and peers and the undying love of their fans.

The architect of this Lady Hawk hoop revival, first-year coach Chadd Laws was a very happy man early this week, both with his team and with the support the Hawks received from their fans all season.

"It was a great season, it's a little tough to digest it all right now, but what a run," he said. "The girls learned to trust and love each other and their coaches. They saw the bigger picture in how important this was for our community and took it to the next level. I couldn't be prouder of this team and what we accomplished."

As for the well-travelling crowd support the Hawks received this season, Laws was equally grateful. "The support we got from our fans, the way that they travelled to all our games, that was noticed by many of the other coaches in our district and division," he said. "And how much our crowd got into our games. They said it was intimidating, and that's a nice thing to have on your side, support like that."

Indeed, it was an energizing tournament appearance for the Lady Hawks and for their boisterous fans in Hamilton.

The Lady Hawks started their 2020 Western B tournament run by shutting down Deer Lodge 50-33 in the first round Thursday, setting up a showdown with 6B rival Bigfork in the semifinals. After falling to the Vals 47-46 in perhaps the most hotly contested game of the tournament Friday, the Hawks rebounded by snuffing out Eureka 54-43 in loser out play Saturday morning.

Thompson Falls went on to dominate Anaconda in the consolation later Saturday, winning 66-49, and then waited hopefully for Bigfork to upset top-ranked, undefeated Loyola in the championship a few hours later. If Bigfork had won that game, which they lost 50-29, the Hawks would have been able to challenge Loyola for a rare berth in the State B tournament, which will be in Butte this year on March 12-14.

As it is, Loyola and Bigfork will be the Western B's representatives at the State B tourney this season.

"I can't say enough about our mental toughness," Laws said. "Anyone who has coached basketball in Montana knows how tough those Saturday morning games are coming off a close loss in the semifinals the night before, but our girls obviously have the right stuff. They were unfazed and played great, not just in the loser out but also in the consolation."

Splashing 3-pointers seemingly at will, freshman phenom Ellie Baxter threw down 21 points to lead the Lady Hawks to the convincing win over Anaconda. Unfortunately, Baxter took a nasty fall and broke a cheekbone hitting the floor head-first late in the game, taking a little of the joy out of the big win, but appears as if she will recover fully.

Taking Baxter's cue from her outside shooting, the Lady Hawks' inside game also opened up, allowing Megan Baxter to register 17 points and Jody Detlaff 12. Faith Frields added eight points to the Hawks' winning effort, Belle Cooper five and Riley Wilson three.

Logan Stetzner shot in 15 points to lead Anaconda, Megan Reich added 10 and Sami Johnson seven.

After losing to Eureka twice during the regular season, the Lady Hawks defeated the Lions twice in the post season, including in the loser-out contest Saturday.

Detlaff paced that Hawk conquest with 17 points, Ellie Baxter added 10, Megan Baxter nine, Frields eight, Elli Pardee seven and Wilson three.

Katie Schmidt scored 17 points to lead Eureka but no other Lady Lion managed more than seven.

The semifinal game with Bigfork was one the Lady Hawks easily could have won. It was an instant tournament classic, a tense, exciting game that will likely be remembered by fans in both towns for a long time.

In a back-and-forth game that featured six tie scores and an amazing total of 14 lead changes, the Vals caught the last break when Emma Berreth was fouled with only 10.2 seconds of game time left and calmly, okay maybe not so calmly, downed both charity tosses to make the score 47-44 Bigfork.

After a timeout with 7.5 seconds remaining, the Hawks set up a play for Megan Baxter, who scored a two-pointer at the buzzer to produce the 47-46 final score. It appeared as if Baxter was fouled on that last shot but no infraction was called.

The game very well could have been tied yet again, with the promise of more lead changes in the overtime that never happened. "We have to be all right with it, that's the way it went," Laws said. "The game really came down to a couple of plays and they happened to go Bigfork's way at some crucial junctures."

Megan Baxter led the Lady Hawks with 14 points, Detlaff scored 11, Ellie Baxter nine, Pardee six and Frields and Wilson three apiece.

Playing one of the best games of her young life, Bigfork freshman Madison Chappuis scored 12 points, including two treys, to lead Bigfork and Ansleigh Edgerton scored nine. Bigfork's leading scorer all season, Berreth managed only six against the Hawks' defensive scheme but her last two proved to be fatal.

"We did a great job on her defensively," Laws said. "In fact, I felt defense was our strength this season, it was the key for getting our offense going. If we continue to improve on that side of the ball, there is no reason we shouldn't be playing in these kind of games next year as well."

Leading only 13-12 after the first quarter of their tournament opener with Deer Lodge Thursday, the Hawks turned the game in their favor by going on a 13-3 run in the second quarter to take a 26-15 lead into halftime, and eventually moved to the 50-33 win.

Megan Baxter scored 19 points to lead the Hawks, Detlaff added 11 Pardee 10, Ellie Baxter five, Cooper and Caity Alexanders two apiece and Wilson one.

Rachel Nicholson paced Deer Lodge with 13 points and Makenzi Meager scored nine.

After such an amazing, encouraging season, the key now for Laws is to keep the ball rolling, so to speak. "This was a great season, one we can build on in the next few years," he said. "Through the district and divisional tournaments we went 5-1 with that one loss by only one point.

"The girls really poured their hearts into the season and came up with a great result," he added. "I don't think they have any regrets. I know I and my assistants (Michael Benson and Sandra Kazmierczak) certainly enjoyed it. Now it becomes about next year."

Cooper and Reagan Hanks are the only seniors who will be graduating this spring, meaning the Lady Hawks should be ready for takeoff immediately when the 2020-2021 season begins.