This was an important game, a springboard if you will, for future basketball tournament endeavors.

And the win went to the T Falls Lady Hawks over the No. 3 seed Eureka Lady Lions, 60-54, during the District 7B basketball tournament this past weekend in St.Ignatius.

With the once beaten Lady Bulldogs from St. Ignatius rampaging through the regular season conference schedule, success in the form of advance to the Divisional round and higher seeding was at the forefront.

The Lady Hawks answered the call, using the win to vault them into the championship game against St. Ignatius, with at least a number two District 7B seeding at stake.

T Falls jumped out to a 16-14 first quarter lead in a rough and tumble first quarter. Eureka, the conference’s number three seed, was unable to overcome the athletic defense put forth by the Lady Hawks as T Falls outscored them 12-7 in the second quarter to take a 28-21 lead into the halftime intermission.

But the Lady Lions, who accumulated a 7-3 7B regular season record, including the only loss hung on league champion St. Ignatius, struck back in the third quarter, shaving six points off the halftime lead, 41-40 heading into the fourth quarter.

T Falls righted the ship in time to outscore the Lady Lions 19-14 in the final quarter of play and come away with the six-point victory.

The win boosted T Falls to 13-5 on the year, while Eureka fell to 9-10 overall. Eureka rebounded from the loss to the Lady Hawks with wins over Superior and Plains, giving them the third seed and Plains’ Trotters the fourth seed from District 7B to the Divisional round.

Sophomore forward Gabbi Hannum had an outstanding night for the Lady Hawks, scoring a game-best 27 points for T Falls. Temmate Addy Deal chipped in 10 points to the victory.

Next up for the T Falls girls is an encounter with Florence-Carlton this Thursday night at 8:15 p.m. at SKC in Pablo.