If it’s the winter sports season, one truism appears to be holding as it does every year. The Thompson Falls Lady Hawks will have a very good basketball team.

Coach Mike Tessier’s Lady Hawks put a stamp on that proclamation this past Saturday night when they routed host Deer Lodge 67-26 in the prison city.

And it could be the boys Blue Hawks are ready to go as well, given their 63-50 road win over the Wardens, also in Deer Lodge.

The Lady Hawks, who once again feature a tall, athletic, hustling group of players, wasted little time in establishing the tone for the game against the Lady Wardens, jumping out to an 18-3 lead after one quarter of play.

T Falls’ senior duo of Ellie Baxter and Avery Burgess quickly took control of the backboards and ruled the roost from outside as well. And their scrappy, high-motion defense began thwarting every Deer Lodge offensive scheme along the way.

The Hawks kept up the tempo throughout the second quarter, powering past the Lady Wardens on their way to a commanding 37-11 halftime lead.

With Burgess raining three-pointers from outside the arc and Baxter dominating inside play, there was little Deer Lodge could do to slow the inevitable.

T Falls outscored the Lady Wardens 30-15 in the second half to coast to the season-opening win.

Baxter led all scorers with 25 points, while Burgess threw in 22 during the rout. Thompson Falls was 16-10 last year.

Later that evening, the Blue Hawks boys, who finished 2021-22 with a 13-12 record, also jumped out to an early lead and never trailed against the out-manned Wardens. A somewhat rustily played first quarter produced an 8-3 lead for the Blue Hawks, who then got things rolling offensively the rest of the way.

By halftime the Hawks led 26-14. The rest of the game was a see-saw affair, but the T Falls early lead held up. The Hawks outscored Deer Lodge 37-36 in the second half to hang on for the season opening victory.

Hawks coach Jake Mickelson got a game-high 25 points from senior forward Jesse Claridge and 20 points from Bryson LeCoure in the win. As was the case with the T Falls girls, the boys were simply too athletic and quick for their Deer Lodge counterparts.

Next on the schedule for the T Falls teams are games this weekend in the Anaconda Tip-off tourney Friday and Saturday.