These Bulldogs bite back.

Fighting back from a nine-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter, the Mission Lady Bulldogs used a clutch last-second shot from Shaedon Kain to cap a 20-9 Mission rally in the fourth quarter, giving the Bulldogs a heart-stopping 48-46 win over the host Hawks in Thompson Falls Thursday.

Improving to 4-0 in 7B conference play and 11-1 overall, Mission is now in the driver’s seat in the race for the conference’s top seed into the Western B divisional tournament in Ronan March 5-7.

Falling to 4-2 in conference play and 6-6 overall with the loss, the Hawks got back on the winning track with a 54-31 road win over 6B Arlee Saturday.

The Hawks had their chances to put away Mission Thursday but the persistent Bulldogs, to their credit, kept fighting back, eventually erasing Thompson Falls’ 37-28 lead at the start of the fourth quarter. Kieran Incashola hit two huge 3-pointers and a two-pointer off an assist from Cora Matt to get the Bulldogs close, and Shaedon Kain closed the deal for Mission by scoring the last four points of the contest on a pair of twisting shots in the key in the game’s last minute.

Although the loss to the rival Bulldogs puts a slight damper on things, the Hawks will play on, hosting Sanders County rival Plains for another important 7B conference game in their only scheduled action of the upcoming week.

“That was another great game between two teams that have really gotten to know each really well these past several years,” Lady Hawk coach Mike Tessier said of the Mission game. “There seems to always be a lot riding on these games and this one was no different. It was a well-played, hard-fought game throughout.

“We would love to see this team again,” he added. "If that works out without having the 7B tourney this year is another matter.”

A bucket here or a stop there and maybe the Hawks would have won this time.

As usual during her incredibly productive career, senior Gabi Hannum paced the Hawk offense against Mission with 15 points, besides grabbing 12 rebounds and five steals, junior Addy Deal was equally prolific, recording a rare triple double with 12 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists and four steals, and Solveig Nygaard added 11 points and four rebounds.

Annalise Fitchett chipped in with four points, two rebounds and two steals, Emma Claridge had two points, three rebounds and three steals and Aubrey Baxter two points and six rebounds.

Incashola scored 16 points for Mission, Kain 15 and Matt 14, with 13 rebounds and four blocked shots also to her credit.

The win over the Scarlets in Arlee was a feel-good one for Tessier and his Lady Hawks.

“We had a good crowd of folks from Thompson Falls there so that was pretty cool,” Tessier said. “Thanks to our fans, this team travels pretty well, and we are grateful,”

Hannum was good for 16 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and seven steals against Arlee, Nygaard registered 14 points , three rebounds, three assists and eight steals, Deal eight points, eight boards, six assists and three steals, Baxter eight points, four rebounds and four assists, and Claridge two rebounds and an assist.