Wildkats work on new offense

With just one senior and two returning starters, the Columbia Falls varsity girls team expects to show improvement through the 2008-09 basketball season.

The Wildkats begin with two games this weekend in the Western A Tip-off Tournament, held in Corvallis and Hamilton. CFHS plays Dillon at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Corvallis High School. On Saturday at 9 a.m., the Kats face defending Class A state champion Anaconda at Hamilton Middle School.

You’ll see a whole new offense from the Kats this season, according to returning head coach Dan Fairbank, whose team posted a 3-17 record last year. It’s a 1-4 double-post scheme, which has been used very successfully by a number of teams in recent years.

“The girls are struggling a little bit,” Fairbank said. “It’s the same set, but with different options. Everything now should be inside out.”

Alyssa Ladenburg, a 5-foot-6 guard, is the lone senior on the team. Juniors who will suit up for the weekend tournament are 5-9 McKenzie Reeve (a transfer from Bigfork), 5-6 Ashli Fairbank, 5-10 Brooke Cady, 5-8 Shay Grilley, 5-10 Shiloh Knudsen and 6-1 Kelsey DeWit. Three sophomores — 5-3 Kayla Stratton, 5-8 Danielle Gilley and 6-0 Kayla DeWit — are also on the opening roster.

Ladenburg and Kelsey DeWit were starters throughout last season, and Kayla DeWit was a starter late in the year. The seniors who were lost to graduation were Sarah Marcille, Sam Ladenburg, Cortney Westgard, Colyne Hislop and Jylisa Fields.

“Our big goal this year is to increase our shooting percentage and reduce our turnovers,” coach Fairbank said.

Shooting was the focus last year, but too much attention was on percentage, according to Fairbank.

“This year we’ll let the girls play the game and concentrate on turnovers,” the coach said.

On the plus side, the Kats outrebounded their opponents in all by three games last season. And with the “twin towers” — the DeWit sisters — the Kats should be strong in that department again.

Expect to see the Kats apply more full-court pressure on foes that they did last season.

“We have a very difficult early schedule,” Fairbank said. “We were a victim of our schedule last year.”

After the opening games, the Kats play a trio of Class AA teams — Flathead, Missoula Sentinel and Big Sky.

“We get five major hits right in a row,” Fairbank said. “If they learn from it we’ll be stronger.”

Fairbank predicts that Polson and Bigfork will be the conference front-runners, with Libby in the mix. You can’t count out Whitefish, which knocked off Flathead on Tuesday.