Kats host Polson in regular season finale

By JOE SOVA / Hungry Horse News

Despite a valiant effort in whittling down a 14-point deficit, Columbia Falls fell short of rival Whitefish and dropped a 51-40 decision in a Northwest A Conference girls basketball game Saturday night at CFHS.

Ronan connected on seven 3-pointers in the first half and coasted to a 58-43 league victory over the Wildkats on Friday in Ronan.

The Kats host Polson on Thursday to close out the regular season, taking in a 1-8 league mark. CFHS will have either the No. 5 or No. 6 seed in the Northwest A Divisional Basketball Tournament next week in Kalispell. If the Kats are seeded fifth, they would face No. 4 Polson at 2 p.m. next Thursday, Feb. 21 at Glacier High School. With the No. 6 seed, CFHS would play No. 3 Libby at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Top-seeded Bigfork and No. 2 Whitefish have first-round byes. The girls portion of the Divisional tourney continues through the Saturday, Feb. 23 championship game at 6 p.m. The top two teams qualify for the Class A State Tournament March 6-8 in Hamilton.

The Kats fell behind Whitefish early and trailed 27-16 at halftime, suffering from a bevy of turnovers. Two field goals by freshman Kayla DeWitt brought CFHS to within 18-14, but Dana Labuda capped a 7-0 Bulldogs run to end the first half with a three-point play.

Whitefishs leading scorer, Ashley Ferda, was held in check for the most part, but Chelsea Ray netted 12 of her game-high 16 points in the first half.

The Bulldogs led by 14, 40-26, after three quarters but could not pull away. The Kats made a run, getting to within 42-38 on Cedar Smiths baseline shot. On a field goal by Sam Ladenburg, the Kats were again within four with 2:10 remaining. But CFHS missed several close-range shots and two free throws while Ferda who had 15 points put the game away with three free throws in a six-second span.

We put ourselves in a position to win because we stepped up our defense, Kats head coach Dan Fairbank said.

The Kats defense concentrated on Ferda and Katie Klundt. Ferda had only three field goals and no 3-pointers while Klundt went without a field goal.

However, turnovers continue to plague the Kats, who had 35 giveaways against the Bulldogs.

Once wed get by their press wed make a silly pass, Fairbank said.

Free throw shooting was a tell-tale statistic. Both the Kats and Bulldogs had 15 field goals, but Whitefish was 21-for-33 from the foul line and CFHS converted just 10 of 22 charities.

Kayla DeWitt led the Kats with 10 points and had seven rebounds. Smith had all eight of her points in the second half, and Kelsey DeWitt had 10 rebounds and eight points. Alyssa Ladenburg had four steals.

Saturday was Senior Night for the Kats. Seniors Jylisa Fields, Colyne Hislop, Sam Ladenburg, Sarah Marcille and Cortny Westgard, accompanied by their parents, were honored.

The Kats trailed Ronan by only a point, 26-25, at halftime. But the Maidens doubled the Kats 20-10 in the third period.

We had a ton of turnovers in the third quarter, Fairbank said. The Kats had 30 turnovers for the game.

While Ronan had seven 3-pointers, the Kats had none. The Maidens shot a sizzling 64 percent from behind the arc, and finished at 46 percent from the field overall.

Their energy level went way up and the more it went up the better they played, Fairbank said of the Maidens.

The Kats shot just 28 percent from the field and were just 9-for-20 from the foul line. Ronan converted 21 of 28 free throws.

Kelsey DeWitt netted 20 points to lead the Kats. Alyssa Ladenburg added 11.

Ishan Wylie led Ronan with 18 points.

Here are the Divisional ticket prices (as set by the Northwest A Conference): Per session (4 sessions) adults, $10; students, $8; reduced price of $6 for adults and $4 for students for the loser-out sessions Saturday morning. All-session general admission pass $25; the pass is available only up to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 19.

COLUMBIA FALLS (1-7, 3-13)

Fields 0 0-0 0, A. Ladenburg 4 3-4 11, Marcille 1 0-0 2, Westgard 1 1-2 3, S. Ladenburg 0 1-2 1, Kelsey DeWitt 9 2-8 20, Kayla DeWitt 2 2-4 6. Totals 17 9-20 43.

RONAN (1-7, 5-11)

Larson 3 0-0 6, Strozzi 3 4-9 12, Starkel 3 0-0 9, Wylie 3 11-12 18, Crenshaw 1 0-1 2, Anderson 2 6-6 11, Thompson 0 0-2 0. Totals 15 21-28 58.

Columbia Falls 11 14 10 8 43

Ronan 13 13 20 12 58

3-point goals: Strozzi 2, Starkel 3, Wylie, Anderson. Team fouls: CF 22, Ronan 17. Fouled out: Fields, S. Ladenburg.

WHITEFISH (7-2, 10-6)

Klundt 0 1-2 1, Ferda 3 9-12 15, Clarke 1 5-6 7, Labuda 2 3-3 7, Ray 7 2-6 16, Cullen 1 0-0 2, Ormsby 1 1-4 3. Totals 15 22-33 51.

COLUMBIA FALLS (1-8, 3-14)

Fields 1 3-4 5, A. Ladenburg 1 1-5 3, Smith 3 2-6 8, Grilley 0 0-0 0, Marcille 0 0-0 0, Westgard 0 0-0 0, S. Ladenburg 3 0-2 6, Hislop 0 0-0 0, Kelsey DeWitt 4 0-0 8, Kayla DeWitt 3 4-5 10. Totals 15 10-22 40.

Whitefish 11 16 13 11 51

Columbia Falls 5 11 10 14 40

3-point goals: None. Team fouls: WF 20, CF 23. Fouled out: Ormsby; Fields, A. Ladenburg.