Rivalry games are many things: interesting, hard-fought, puzzling, etc.

There was a little bit of all those elements in the mix this past Thursday night when the visiting Sanders County rival Thompson Falls Lady Hawks came to Plains and knocked off the red-hot Trotters 47-35.

As a winter storm raged on outside, the Lady Hawks did their best to make it a tough night for Plains fans.

Thompson Falls jumped out to a 15-8 first quarter lead as their tall, talented front line sought to assert control of the game over an equally tall and tough Plains crew.

And the T Falls back court, led by 5-5 sophomore Solveig Nygaard did their best to take advantage of Lady Hawks’ rebounding and defense, as they went on to outscore the home team 14-7 in quarter number two.

That boosted T Falls to a 29-15 halftime time lead over the Trotters, who had lost only one time this year prior to the Lady Hawks coming to town, that defeat coming in early December on the road in Darby.

The Trotters regrouped at halftime and cranked up their defense, which held T Falls to six points in the third quarter while Plains scored a dozen to trim six points off the halftime deficit.

Heading into the final eight minutes of play, T Falls was up 35-27, with momentum seeming to have shifted to the Trotters.

But the Hawks tightened up their defense, choking off the Plains comeback attempt while holding the Trotters to eight points. T Falls held on for the victory, squaring their Western 7B conference mark at 1-1 and pushing them above .500 on the year. The Lady Hawks are now 5-4 for the 2023-24 season.

Plains also stands at 1-1 in the conference and dropped to 7-2 with the loss.

Nygaard scored a game-high 15 points for T Falls, while teammates Addy Deal had 11 points and Gabbi Hannum contributed nine.

Katelyn Subatch topped Plains with 12 points, while Blakely Lakko pitched in eight for the Trotters.

Next up for Thompson Falls, which had a game with Eureka canceled this past Saturday due to inclement weather, is a home game this Thursday (Jan 18) versus Troy. The Lady Hawks then travel to Superior this Saturday for a game with the Lady Bobcats.

Plains has a pair of road games on its schedule, beginning with a game this Thursday in Mission against the Lady Bulldogs. The Trotters then head north Saturday night for a game with Eureka.

    Thompson Falls freshman Addy Deal shoots over Plains' Katelyn Subatch during their game this past Thursday night in Plains. Deal had 11 points for the Lady Hawks. (Courtesy photo)