TOWNSEND – The Townsend and Three Forks girls are meeting up for the third time this season, this time in the District 5B championship game. In Townsend, the Bulldogs led for the majority of the game, but ultimately fell short losing by three. In the last meeting, Three Forks came out fast in the second half to pull away and win by nine.
“I just think defensively we had some letdowns too, and offensively, just execution as well,” head coach Dan Hazlett said. “I can’t reiterate enough, (Three Forks is) an awesome team and they came out on fire in that third quarter, and we just didn’t match it.”
“I think we just panic way too much,” said star forward Tavia Rooney. “And I think we just need to execute our offense more, and I think once we get that down and realize the looks we need to get in our offense, and then busting our butt down on defense I think will get us there.”
While they admit that there may be a bit of a mental hurdle, Townsend is relying on their previous meetings with the Wolves to prepare for revenge.
“Absolutely,” Hazlett said of having a mental mountain to climb. “I mean, you keep seeing that team, playing that team, but you learn from it. And I know they’re learning from us too, but we’ll learn what worked and didn’t work against them. Everyone keeps talking about that match up, and hopefully (we meet again), because they’re a great team. So we know if we’re playing them, we’re probably at the top.”
“Us and Three Forks have always kind of had a rivalry, and it’s always fun playing them,” senior guard Abby Leachman said. “Mentally we just have to be tough, and if we make a mistake, just get back and get it back on defense.”
“Absolutely,” Rooney said about revenge on Three Forks. “I think we want every other game that we have against them. They’re always our best competition in our district, so it’s always fun to play them. We have, at least I anyways, my adrenaline gets going so much, so I love games like that and so I just have a good time playing them.”
