Hawk Boys win two in a row, Girls fall short

Boys

"The game against Jordan was our best team effort of the year," Broadus Boys Coach Mike Richards commented. "That includes our guys off the bench – they got in when we needed them, and performed whatever role they were asked."

That win against Jordan, along with another earlier in the week against Custer/ Hysham, has the Hawks flying high going into their last weekend of regular season play before tournaments. Currently the tournament picture looks like Broadus will meet up with Jordan again, in the first round of play at Districts, which will be held February 13-16 in Miles City.

Before the Hawks make it that far, they still have to face a daunting Melstone team in Melstone. Richards is realistic about his chances, and hopes to improve on the last game's score, which found Broadus losing 41-82.

After Melstone, it's back home Saturday night for Parent's Night, against Terry. "We'll have to take care of business there and make sure we play our game, as we only beat Terry by 10 points last time," Richards said.

Highlights of the Custer/ Hysham game included a season's best 66.7% free throw percentage for the team, as well as a 45% shot percentage from the field, which is another season high. The Hawks also had 17 assists in the 68-38 win, including 7 assists from Clay LaPlant and 4 from Marcus Mader.

At Jordan Friday night, the Hawks started hot, but Jordan came back to tie the game 18-18 after the first quarter. The Hawks won the second quarter, going into the locker room up 30-25. Jordan fought back in the third leading the Hawks 44-39. The Hawks used their full court press in the fourth to make some steals and points off turnovers, which allowed the Hawks to pull ahead for a 65-60 victory.

Broadus had a balanced attack in Jordan, with four players scoring double digit points, but Richards was quick to mention that just like in the quote from the first paragraph, the win was a team effort.

Girls

The Lady Hawks faced Custer/Hysham and Jordan last week. In the game against Custer/Hysham, the Lady Hawks mounted an impressive come from behind 3 quarters of play. At one point just before the end of the first half, the Lady Hawks were down 3-23. Early in the third, their fortunes reversed, as Broadus pulled within five of the lead.

"Our defense really made that comeback possible," Coach Kacey Stanley said of the game. Kiarah Coulter, who had suffered an ankle injury a week prior, was able to play part of the game against Custer/Hysham, though her limping gait belied her hurt condition. With Kiarah on ambulatory status, the Lady Hawks could not quite pull it out, falling behind at the end of the fourth, to finish the game behind 27-36.

The Lady Hawks then traveled to Jordan, where they fell behind after the first quarter. "It was a winnable game, but we just couldn't execute." Broadus went 10 of 53 in field goal percentage against Jordan, in the 28-47 loss.

Coulter's return is questionable for this weekend, where the Lady Hawks will face a tough Lady Bronc team at Melstone, then face a beatable Terry team here on Saturday for Senior night. Action begins against Terry with JV games beginning at 2 PM.

The Lady Hawks look towards the tournament after this weekend. They are currently seated 7th out of 9 teams in the conference.

Click on the link below for game stats:

https://www.powderriverexaminer.com/home/customer_files/stats/bballstats2.pdf