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The Blue Hawks hosted the Troy Trojans last Friday, and while the Lady Hawks made winning look easy, the boys had to fight for their win in an aggressive, exciting matchup.

In the first game among the girls, Troy and Thompson Falls were tied before the Hawks pushed it into high gear, kicked off with a three-point shot from Chesney Lowe. The Hawks ended the quarter up 29-2. Thompson Falls strengthened their lead in the second quarter, but didn't get a running clock going until the start of the second half when they kept pushing and ended the third quarter up by 50, 57-7.

The Lady Hawk varsity consists of five seniors and five freshmen, and the younger Hawks were out on the court together for much of the second half. Seeing the energy on the court gave the crowd a glimpse at the future of the Lady Hawks, and the young Hawks showed they can continue the winning ways for the team.

The fourth quarter was much of the same for the Hawks, as they held the Troy Trojans and finished the game 68-13.

Coach Mike Tessier said it was a good team effort with the girls exceeding in their three-pointers and making over 60% of their free-throws. Gabi Hannum had a double-double, banking 12 points and making 12 rebounds. Ellie Baxter racked up 15 points and achieved six assists. Natalie Roberts hooped 14 points, Lowe shot 11, Delainey Gerhard eight and a great game for Olivia Fitchett with six points. Avery Burgess and Hannum both stole four.

The Blue Hawk boys found Troy to be a bit more of a challenge last Friday, but ended with a 52-42 win. Thompson Falls was without senior Jesse Claridge, who was out with an illness last week, but came together for the win.

It was a low-scoring first quarter for the boys, as the Hawks gave up several turnovers and ended the first eight minutes up by just two points, 8-6. The Hawks held the lead in a battle of the defenses as they went into the locker room up 16-12 at the half. Both teams were aggressive with the ball in the second half, with players on each team fouling out, but Thompson Falls was able to pull away in the fourth and win by 10.

Annie Wooden

Alivia McCormick eyes a path to the basket against the Trojans on Friday.

Bryson LeCoure led the scoring with 20 points and made eight rebounds, Ben Cooper hooped eight points and succeeded with seven rebounds, Jacob Britt banked seven points and made seven assists, Nick Tessier scored seven points and grabbed three rebounds and Breck Ferris shot six points and topped the team with rebounds for 12. Kaiden Robins and Sam Burgess made a couple of points each with Robins rebounding two. The Hawks boasted a total of 47 rebounds to the Trojans' 20.

"Pure grit and determination by the Blue Hawks allowed us to get the big home win over Troy last Friday evening," said Coach Jake Mickelson. He added that, "We probably were a little too loose with the ball and had more turnovers than we would have liked (20), but the effect was there and now we just need the execution to go along with it to steamroll us into Eureka Tuesday night."

The Blue Hawks were set to host Anaconda on Saturday, but the Copperheads canceled due to weather. This week, Thompson Falls traveled to Eureka on Tuesday and heads to Loyola on Friday. Tessier said that Loyola will be a tough game and help set the team up for divisionals.