Freewheeling and having fun, the Lady Hawks rebounded from a tough 60-55 loss in Mission Tuesday by running and gunning their way past Valley Christian 81-46 in Missoula Saturday.

Now 0-1 in District 7B play and a deceptive 2-5 overall, coach Mike Tessier and his Lady Hawks play at Plains Thursday and host Eureka Saturday in a pair of conference games.

Tessier was relieved for and impressed with his girls for the way they handled their hoop business in Missoula, especially after Thompson Falls has endured such a brutal schedule of games so far.

“We have had a pretty tough start to the season, a string of challenging games to open the season with,” he said. “It was really nice to see the girls just go out, play and have some fun like they did in Missoula. That was a beautiful thing to see.”

Indeed, Falls fans can appreciate the way the Hawks got out and ran away from the homestanding Eagles. The Lady Hawks winged out to a 24-10 lead by the end of the first quarter, extended the advantage to 42-20 by halftime and increased it 64-37 by the end of the third period, coasting in for the win with a 20-9 win of the fourth quarter.

Showing remarkable scoring balance with all that firepower, Gabi Hannum led the Hawks with 30 points, Solvieg Nygaard stretched the nets for 21, Addy Deal 17 and Annalise Fairbank 11 as Thompson Falls put four players into double figure scoring.

Audrey Fairbank and Addy Traver added two points apiece.

Deal added 16 rebounds, five steals and eight assists to her stat line against the Eagles, Hannum had 10 rebounds and two assists, Annalise six boards, four steals and four assists, and Solveig five rebounds, five steals and five assists. Audrey Fairbank also dished out five assists.

Scoring for Valley was not available.

The game with Mission was another one that has become typical in this heated rivalry, close and contested until the end.

“We played pretty well, gave ourselves a chance in the end,” Tessier said. "We look forward to seeing them again.” The return date with Mission is in Thompson Falls Jan. 29. Since there is no District 7B tournament this season, the next chance for a Hawk-Bulldog meeting after that would have to be at the Western B tourney or, heaven forbid, at the State B tourney, a place both teams would be glad to be in.

Hannum again led Thompson Falls scorers in Mission with 22 points, Deal added 12, Nygaard nine and Annalise Fairbank seven. Hannum speared 10 rebounds, Deal eight, and Nygaard, Claridge and Deal four apiece.

Deal passed out six assists in Mission and Nygaard five.

Sheadon Kain led Mission with 19 points, Kieran Incashola scored 14 and Brooklyn McClure 13.