Wildkats breeze by Wolfpack

Holding Class AA Glacier to 20-percent shooting, Columbia Falls cruised to a 44-25 victory over the Wolfpack on Friday at CFHS.

Suffering from sub-par shooting and a poor rebounding evening, the Wildkats lost to Class A Eureka 45-38 on Thursday in Eureka.

“We completely turned around our game from the night before,” Kats head coach Dan Fairbank said of the win over Glacier. “We were the aggressor, which allowed us to force a lot of turnovers. We were just really hustling from one side of the floor to the other. That was all the difference in the world.”

The Kats trailed Glacier 9-8 after one period, but scored the first 12 points of the second quarter. The first Wolfpack field goal of the period came with 3:05 to go before halftime. CFHS led 24-10 at the break on a shot by Kelsey DeWit in the lane.

Glacier had 10 turnovers in the first quarter and 18 by halftime.

“We switched up our defenses a little bit,” Fairbank said. “The second quarter we stopped turning it over. We started cleaning things up.”

Glacier’s tallest player, 6-foot senior Emilee Hashley, had only one field goal in the opening period and no more the rest of the game.

“Their offense is designed around Emilee getting the ball,” Fairbank explained, and the Kats smothered her the entire evening. “We did a great job of adjusting. We dove to the middle to get that pass.”

Ten points from Rachel Cutler in the third period kept the Wolfpack within striking distance, but  the Kats held Glacier to just two points in the final quarter.

Kelsey DeWit netted 14 points. Kayla DeWit added 10 points, had nine rebounds and four steals. Alyssa Ladenburg, who drew praise from Fairbank, provided eight points, five assists and five steals.

EUREKA DOUBLED THE Kats 12-6 in the second period Thursday and led 25-17 at halftime.

CFHS trailed by 10 going into the fourth quarter and was unable to make a run at the Lady Lions.

Fairbank said the loss was due to “lack of hustle, defense and blocking out.”

Eureka had 27 turnovers, seven more than the Kats. The Lady Lions won the board battle, though, 36-29.

Kayla DeWit, who netted 21 points, shot 59 percent from the field. The rest of team was a dismal 17 percent.

Ladenburg led the Kats in steals with five and assists with five.

Mariah Newell led Eureka with 17 points. Auna Lawler had four 3-pointers and scored 12 points.

In a battle of teams that are unbeaten in Northwestern A Conference play, the Kats play at Bigfork on Friday. Both have 4-0 league marks.

“They’re going to pressure the ball a lot,” Fairbank said. “We have to make sure we stop Roxy Thurman and Kailey Fiero.”

COLUMBIA FALLS (38)

McKenzie Reeve 1 0-0 2, Danielle Gilley 2 1-2 3, Brooke Cady 1 0-0 2, Kayla DeWit 10 1-2 21, Alyssa Ladenburg 1 1-2 3, Kelsey DeWit 2 3-6 7. Totals 15 6-12 38.

EUREKA (45)

Cami Stacy 0 2-2 2, Carly Hammond 1 0-0 2, Kayci West 2 0-0 4, Auna Lawler 4 0-0 12, Steph Vogelman 1 6-8 8, Mariah Newell 6 5-6 17. Totals 14 13-16 45.

Columbia Falls    11    6    7    14 — 38

Eureka    13    12    9    11 — 45

3-point goals:

Total fouls: Columbia Falls 13, Eureka 14. Fouled out: none.

GLACIER (25)

Kadie Latimer 2 2-4 7, Rachel Cutler 3 2-2 10, Lindsea Vaudt 0 1-2 1, Emilee Hashley 1 1-2 3, McKell Bennett 2 0-0 4. Totals 8 6-10 25.

COLUMBIA FALLS (44)

Reeve 0 2-4 2, Kayla Stratton 1 0-0 2, Cady 1 0-2 2, Kayla DeWit 4 2-2 10, Ladenburg 3 2-2 8, Shay Grilley 3 0-0 6, Kelsey DeWit 6 2-4 14. Totals 18 8-14 44.

Glacier    8    2    13    2 — 25

Columbia Falls    9    15    12    8 — 44

3-point goals: Latimer, Cutler 2. Total fouls: Glacier 15, Columbia Falls 11. Fouled out: Cutler.