Wolves sweep rivalry games

There is always something special about the energy in the arena for a rivalry basketball game, even more so when the game lives up to the billing. This was certainly the case last Thursday night, with the Three Forks High School basketball teams sweeping their home matchups against Manhattan. The girls opened the evening with a 43-40 win, and the boys ended the night with a 68-62 overtime victory over the visiting Tigers.

Lady Wolves Head Coach Lacy Noble said a win against Manhattan is always great, but to get it in their last conference home game made it even sweeter.

"Bri Warren had a great night, a game high of 15, but she did more than that. She has emerged as a leader on the floor and helps direct the team. It has helped the communication from the bench to the floor. And when she's on the bench, she's still finding her voice to lead and support her teammates," Noble said.

Maddie Tesoro added nine points in the win, senior Brielle Davis had six, Devyn Judd finished with five, Tanaya Hauser had four, Fallon Page had three, and Bella Jones added two points.

Tied at 55 at the end of regulation, the Three Forks boys' team outscored Manhattan 13-7 in overtime.

The Wolves had five players in double figures, with Hunter Feddes leading the way with 16 points. Caleb Van Vleet added 14, Shane Williams finished with 13, Colten Hayder had 12, and Dylan Swenson finished with 10. Sam Tesoro added three points.

Two nights later in Townsend, both squads once again had tightly contested matchups, with the boys falling 52-49 and the Lady Wolves losing 48-40 in overtime.

"The loss against Townsend was a tough one to take. But some hard lessons were learned, and we ultimately took away more learning lessons from that one," Noble said.

Tesoro led Three Forks in scoring with 13 points. Jones finished with nine, Eva Parker had five, Davis and Warren finished with four, Judd had three, and Page and Hauser each had one.

The boys were led in scoring by Swenson with 15, Hayder finished with 13, Van Vleet had 10, Williams finished with nine, and Feddes added two points.

This week, Three Forks will host East Helena on February 10 and be on the road on February 11 in Columbus.

"We are working on our mental toughness and our confidence going into our last two non-conference games this weekend. The pressure this week is just on ourselves, getting ourselves better, working out the last kinks. I hope we can hit a higher shooting percentage this weekend and also be encouraging to our teammates and pick each other up when needed. I want the girls to enjoy playing basketball this weekend, regardless of the outcome, and have some fun," Noble said.