Basketball teams end regular season

The Blue Hawks traveled to Mission on Thursday, with the boys losing 71-35 and the girls winning by one point, 52-51. The teams then traveled to Bigfork on Saturday for their last game of the regular season, both suffering losses to the Vikings 62-45 and Valkyries 62-45.

Hawk Coach Jake Mickelson said both his team and the Bulldogs came out strong in the first quarter last Thursday, but the Hawks were unable to sustain it through four quarters. Against Bigfork, the Blue Hawk boys were down 30-19 at the half. Mickelson said his team pulled within seven points in the third but couldn't get over the hump and were unable to catch the Vikings.

Mickelson said his team is resilient and they are going into the District 7B tournament one game at a time, looking to use this week to improve on what they can. Thompson Falls opens the district tournament against Troy.

The Lady Hawks came from behind to beat Mission by one point, 52-51. Coach Chadd Laws said it was an intense game, with the Hawks being down by as many as 14 points. "We made a huge run in the second half, mainly the fourth quarter," he said. Thompson Falls was without junior Ellie Baxter over the weekend, who was out due to an injury. "We finally took the lead with 25 seconds left with a free throw by Maliyah (LeCoure)." Laws added that the team did better with rebounding and they were in better condition for the final weekend of the regular season. "We improved on the first time we had played Mission."

The Lady Hawks struggled the first three quarters against Bigfork, down 32-18 at the half and 50-24 at the end of the third. The Hawks rallied in the fourth, nearly doubling their points in the final quarter. Laws said going into the postseason, his advice for his team is to "give your best effort, have no regrets and love your teammates."

Plains traveled to Hot Springs last Tuesday, with the girls battling to the end. Plains edged out the win 51-50 in front of a full house in the Hot Springs gym, boosted by Kaylah Standeford's 25 points and nine from Carlie Wagnor. Senior Katelyn Christensen led the Savage Heat with 23 points and Lauryn Aldridge added 16.

The Savage Heat boys got a win last Tuesday for senior night, beating the Horsemen 66-44. Jack McAllister led Hot Springs with 22 points, Kyle Lawson added 14, Garth Parker 13, Vania Afonin and Quincy Styles-DePoe four apiece and Nick McAllister two points. "Our team got a lot of time on the court," said Hot Springs Coach Scott Fredrickson. "Plains played really well in the second half so we have to give credit to them." Hot Springs had a 20-point lead at halftime and got the win on senior night.

Jayden Weeks and Aaron Pfister each scored 13 points for the Horsemen in Hot Springs, Darren Standeford seven, Zayden Allen five, Jayden Lappierre four and Will Tatum two.

Hot Springs finished their regular season on the road at Seeley-Swan on Saturday. Both teams fell to the Blackhawks, 65-37 for the girls and the boys 62-47. Fredrickson said he felt good about the game in Seeley, his team just didn't get as many shots and the high post for the Blackhawks scored points against Hot Springs early in the game. "We stayed in the game," he added, with Hot Springs getting within six points of Seeley-Swan at one point during the game. Hot Springs finished the regular season 12-5 and now looks ahead to the district tournament this weekend, where they will play Superior in the first round on Thursday. "We're going to try not to complicate things and let the kids play and do what we worked on all year," Fredrickson said. "Defensively we've gotten better and we're playing well as a team. We have good senior leadership and the players work together as a team and that's great." He added that he wants his team to have a good experience in the postseason and play the game, not worrying about pressure.

On Saturday, the Horsemen and Trotters played Mission for their final game of the regular season. Both Plains teams came up short, with the girls listing 75-42 and the Bulldogs besting the Horsemen 80-28.

The Noxon Red Devils finished their regular season with three games last week, traveling to Superior on Tuesday, hosting Two Eagle River on Thursday and ending the regular season on the road in Troy on Friday. The Red Devil girls fell 44-25 to Alberton-Superior, making a comeback in the fourth and outsourcing Alberton-Superior 17-12. Noxon's Emily Brown scored 10 points in Superior, Callie Cano adding seven, Jaedyn Murray six and Farrah Boehme two. The Red Devils beat Two Eagle River at home 48-22.