Three Forks falls short in hard fought rivalry game

In a back-and-forth rivalry affair on January 11, the Three Forks High School Girls' Basketball team fell at home 46-40 to visiting Manhattan.

Trailing 19-17 at halftime, the Wolves (6-4, 2-3 5B) would withstand a strong start to the third from the Tigers and would take a 33-31 lead after a Maya Noble layup late in the third quarter and led 35-34 lead going into fourth.

Manhattan would outscore Three Forks 12-5 in the final quarter to take home the rivalry victory.

Following the game, Wolves Head Coach Lacy Noble said there were bright spots from her team, and she liked the intensity they played with at times during the game, especially when utilizing the full-court press.

"Having that intensity for four quarters is what we've been striving for, and we didn't quite have it for all four quarters. We have to push teams. I think we are quicker than some of our opponents, so we need to press, and we have to play an up-tempo game," Noble said.

Noble and Maddie Tesoro led the team in scoring with nine points, and Tanaya Hauser and Devynn Judd both finished with six. AdaRae Thomas and Bella Jones added five points for Three Forks.

After finishing with 24 turnovers, Noble said the players need to trust themselves and keep going after miscues. She would like to get the players out of stressful situations so they can make better decisions.

The Wolves game on January 12 at Lone Peak was postponed due to weather until January 26. In conference action this week, Three Forks will host Jefferson High School on January 19 and travel to Ennis on January 20.

Nearly halfway through the conference schedule, Noble said Jefferson is a really tough team, and then there is a group of teams including Three Forks that can all play with each other.

"It will be a battle to Districts and the end of the season. It's going to be who can improve and figure out who they are as a team and is playing better," she said.