Lady Hawks finish at state

The historic season for the Lady Hawk basketball team ended at the state tournament in Bozeman last weekend. The Hawks went 0-2 at state, but lessons were learned and the team is thankful for a successful season.

"I can't even begin to describe how it felt that we actually made it to state," senior Roni Hanks said after the Hawks returned home. "I was happy even though we lost. We hadn't seen any of those teams before. Playing in the college arena was a little intimidating."

Thompson Falls opened the state tournament Thursday evening with a matchup against Harlem. The Hawks took an early lead, ending the first quarter up by two points, 10-8, but Harlem blasted back in the second quarter to take the lead 24-15 at half. The Hawks couldn't catch up in the second half and lost 61-39 to Harlem, pushing them to the consolation round on Friday.

In the consolation bracket, Thompson Falls faced off against Glasgow. The Scotties took an early lead and the Hawks struggled to get into a rhythm the first half, trailing 20-7 as the teams went into the locker room. The Hawks made a valiant run in the fourth quarter, outscoring Glasgow 17-13, but their state tournament ended in a 46-30 loss.

"Coaching at state is no different in terms of preparation," Coach Chadd Laws said. "The biggest thing is just trying to keep everything as normal as you can." He said now that the team has made it to state, his hope is that he and his assistant coaches can get the team to continue to believe that they can get there. "I'm happy with the season and the level of commitment of our team. They worked together. I enjoyed the girls. It was fun to go to practice," the coach added.

Hanks said she was proud of how far the team got this year, especially with new players this year. For juniors Avery Burgess and Natalie Roberts, as well as senior Maliyah LeCoure, it was the first season with the Lady Hawks. "We were determined," Hanks added. Roberts said that her junior year was "such a great basketball season. Everyone was so welcoming, and the team is really close." She added that the team came together throughout the season as they dealt with challenges such as injuries and illness, saying that teammates stepped up when it was their time to play. "They put their hearts into it."

Against Harlem, junior Ellie Baxter led the Hawks with 15 points and 11 rebounds, senior Caity Alexander scored eight points, Avery Burgess seven, Natalie Roberts three, Cheyla Irvine and Alivia McCormick two apiece and Chesney Lowe and Maliyah LeCoure one point each.

"At state we knew we would be playing harder teams," senior Caity Alexander said. "We don't get to see those teams any other time during the season. But we knew we made it there too." She added that it was disappointing to lose out in two games at state, but they still had so much fun. Alexander wasn't able to play at divisional due to illness and she said it was hart to watch instead of getting to play. But, Alexander said the challenges of the season helped the whole team step up.

Roberts led the Hawks in scoring against Glasgow with nine points, Baxter scored seven, Burgess four, Irvine and Alexander three apiece and LeCoure two. Burgess led the team in rebounds with seven. The Hawks shot just 22% from field goal range and were seven for 15 at the free throw line. Thompson Falls rallied for seven steals in their final game of the season. Glasgow was led by Sabrina Harsh's 20 points and 10 points from Carly Nelson. "We had a tough time with shooting and we saw a tougher level of defense," Laws said of the state tournament. "We weren't going to get any easy shots. Our team played pretty darn good defense." He added that he was proud of the girls from becoming the team they were capable of as the team became more guard oriented this year than post oriented. "We learned more about our identity and that came to fruition at divisional." He said he wants to build on that and continue with skill development and strength training throughout the year.

Glasgow went on to meet Bigfork in the consolation semifinals. The Valkyries, the other team from the Western B division to make the state tournament, beat Glasgow 59-49 to win third place. In the girls B state championship, Colstrip beat Jefferson 56-43. In the boys tournament, Three Forks beat Harlem in the championship game 72-57, and Lodge Grass beat Shelby 63-49 for third.

As the Lady Hawks have experienced all season, the community members that made the trip to state in Bozeman were a big motivator for the team. The Thompson Falls pep band also went to state, helping to motivate the players and the crowd. "It was so great to have all the support," Roberts noted. Hanks added that having the pep band at state and almost an entire section of the arena full of parents and community members helped the team. "It kept me going because I wanted us to keep playing."

Looking back on the season, the divisional tournament was a highlight for both players and coaches. "My favorite part of the season was at divisional, beating Loyola in that first game and coming back together after district," Roberts said. After finishing fourth in the district tournament last month in Bigfork, the Hawks rallied to finish second at the divisional tournament in Ronan. Laws said beating Loyola at divisional was a high moment in the season for him as well. "That was a big deal and a major confidence booster for our team."

With the basketball season over, Coach Laws and his players are already thinking ahead. "I'm excited to see what we can do next season, too," Roberts said, noting that they will work to on building their team. She said the competition at state was very physical. "We'll work on that and fundamentals and getting our offense better." Laws said the team will work to get stronger. "Our program is moving in the right direction."