The Thompson Falls Blue Hawks traveled hundreds of miles to the Smelter City for a basketball ball tournament last weekend, but they weren’t alone. Dozens of fans also made the trip to Anaconda to watch the Hawks in action. “The fans were awesome,” Lady Hawks Coach Chadd Laws said. “Thompson Falls was well represented.”

The Lady Hawks came home with two big wins, beating Stillwater Christian 77-34 on Friday and Choteau 71-28 on Saturday. Laws said it was a big weekend for his team, but they still have some things to work on, including rebounding, on-ball defense and communication. “If we want to go where we want to go, we need to do the things that championship teams do.”

What stood out for Laws last weekend was his team’s chemistry and their transition game, which he said was on point. Junior Ellie Baxter had a “fantastic weekend,” Laws noted, as she scored 24 points against Stillwater Christian and 28 again Choteau, in just three quarters of that game. He pointed out that against Stillwater Christian, the team had 10 three-point shots from five different players.

Laws added that junior Maliyah LeCoure had a great weekend in Anaconda as well, scoring 20 points Friday and 13 on Saturday. “Her game is more than scoring though,” Laws said of LeCoure, who is in her first season with the Hawks. “She’s a steady, calming presence and an intelligent player and her teammates respond to that.”

LeCoure said that the team, despite having three new players who haven’t played with them before, plays really well together and that shows on the scoreboard. She added that everyone contributed in Anaconda. If a player wasn’t hitting shots, they stepped in and pulled more rebounds. “We just gave it all. Our coach never stopped coaching and that helped us tremendously,” LeCoure said.

The wins in Anaconda were a boost for the Lady Hawks as they head into their first home competition this week. “It’s such a fun environment and a good experience,” LeCoure said. “We’re really excited to play in front of our home crowd this week and show them what we’ve been practicing.” She also noted that the team needs to focus on rebounding and that they are still trying to find each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”

“Those girls compete,” Laws said. “There’s no doubt when you watch them play, it’s hard and it’s fast.” He said his coaching staff maximized the amount of playing time for all the players, as both junior varsity and varsity attended the tournament. The JV squad lost their first game on Friday, but handily won on Saturday.

The Hawks had their first home game of the season on Tuesday as they played host to Libby. Results were not available at press time. They will travel to Plains on Friday and will host Noxon on December 21.