The first prep basketball game of 2019 tipped off at the RAC on Tuesday night as the Loyola Breakers picked their first conference win on the year with a 69-53 victory over Thompson Falls.
Freshman stand out Lani Walker led the Breakers to the victory by out scoring all shooters with 31 points on the night. Walker picked up a portion of her points on the Loyola in bound press where they came away with steals that the Breakers converted into points. Right from the gate Loyola’s freshman point guard lit up the scoreboard with 10 points, eight of which came in the paint, all coming off Walker and the Breakers chippy defense.
Down 41-23 at the half time break Thompson Falls head coach Doree Thilmony instituted her adjustments and by mid way through the third quarter the Lady Hawks had chipped away at the Loyola lead. It was sophomore power that propelled the Lady Hawks with Megan Baxter and Jody Detlaff put up six points each, 12 of the 17 Thompson Falls scored in the third quarter.
Loyola never let up on the defensive side of the ball despite holding a hefty lead, putting pressure on the Lady Hawks to in bound the ball. With a stiff defense and Lani Walker’s smooth lay up the Breakers road their way to a win to open up the 2019 portion of their season.