Wildkats post hoop wins over Loggers, Pirates

When you do not allow a basketball team to have a big quarter you have a good chance for a victory.

Columbia Falls allowed no more than 11 points in a period in its varsity girls weekend games, and the Wildkats were able to earn a pair of wins to open the Northwestern A Conference season.

CFHS turned back homestanding Libby 40-33 on Friday, and came back home to record a 55-40 victory over Polson the next evening.

The Wildkats take a 2-0 league record and 3-4 overall mark into Friday’s game at Ronan. Game times have been changed; the C squad/freshman game starts at 4 p.m., followed by the JV contest at 5:30 p.m. The varsity girls game around 8:30 p.m. comes after the 7 p.m. varsity boys contest.

CFHS takes on rival Whitefish on Saturday at WHS.

The Kats held Libby to single-digit scoring in all four quarters Friday, quite a feat on the Loggers’ home court.

“We really took care of business,” Kats head coach Dan Fairbank said. “We denied every option that we thought they were going to run.”

CFHS led 19-17 at halftime, then outscored Libby 13-8 in the third period.

“We had some lapses with our defense, but Libby had a pretty poor shooting night,” Fairbank said.

Libby’s leading scorer, Jackie Mee, really had to work for her 16 points and had only three field goals.

“We recognized where she was and shaded her side with the zone defense,” Fairbank explained.

While CFHS shot 35 percent from the field, Libby finished at just 20 percent.

The Kats won the game despite committing 27 turnovers and not rebounding very well.

Kelsey DeWit turned in a double-double for the Kats. She scored 14 points, had 11 rebounds, two blocks and a steal. McKenzie Reeve had a “break-out game,” Fairbank said, with 11 points — shooting 5-for-7 from the field. Alyssa Ladenburg also had 11 points.

AGAINST POLSON, the Kats led 12-9 after one period and outscored the Pirates 19-11 for a 31-20 halftime lead.

“We played our best game, buzzer to buzzer,” Fairbank said. “The girls put together our best full-game effort. We outrebounded them, we reduced our turnovers, we improved our shooting. We really executed our offense.”

Kelsey DeWit was the catalyst in that second period, scoring all 11 of her points. All 19 points in the period came from the post, provided by the DeWit sisters, Kelsey and Kayla, and Brooke Cady.

The Kats held Polson to 21-percent shooting from the field. They won the board battle, 36-25.

Kelsey DeWit had her second straight double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Kayla

DeWit also had 11 boards and led in scoring with 17 points.

Ladenburg had one of her best games. She scored 11 points, had seven assists and five steals.

Shay Grilley added eight points.

Amanda James led Polson with 14 points.

COLUMBIA FALLS (40)

McKenzie Reeve 5 0-0 11, Danielle Gilley 0 1-2 1, Kayla DeWit 1 1-2 3, Alyssa Ladenburg 4 0-0 9, Shay Grilley 0 0-1 0, Kelsey DeWit 7 2-2 16. Totals 17 4-7 40.

LIBBY (33)

Evi Cermick 2 2-4 6, Larona Luscher 3 0-1 6, Brittany Martin 1 0-0 3, Jaime Gilden 1 0-3 2, Jackie Mee 3 9-10 16. Totals 10 11-18 33.

Columbia Falls    11    8    13    8 — 40

Libby      8    9      8    8 — 33

3-point goals: Reeve, Ladenburg.

Total fouls: Columbia Falls 17, Libby 10. Fouled out: Kayla DeWit.

POLSON (40)

Amanda James 5 1-2 14, Sierra Pete 5 1-4 11, Breanne Kelley 1 1-2 3, Rochelle Woods 1 1-2 3, Riley Kenney 0 1-2 1, Nicole Davey 2 0-0 4, Sarah Newton 1 0-0 2, Cali Hislop 0 2-5 2. Totals 15 7-15 40.

COLUMBIA FALLS (55)

Reeve 1 0-0 2, Cady 2 2-2 6, Kayla DeWit 6 5-6 17, Ladenburg 4 2-3 11, Grilley 3 2-4 8, Shiloh Knudsen 0 0-1 0, Kelsey DeWit 4 3-3 11. Totals 20 15-20 55.

Polson      9    11    11      9 — 40

Columbia Falls    12    19    13    11 — 55

3-point goals: James 3; Ladenburg

Total fouls: Polson 15, Columbia Falls 15. Fouled out: Kelley.