Kats should be much improved this season

The expectation is simple: Make it to the state tournament. This year’s Columbia Falls girls basketball team has the varsity experience to do that.

Last year, they fell just short, taking third in the divisional tournament while playing two freshmen and two sophomores. With a year experience under their belts and a full summer of camps and open gyms, the girls are ready to make their mark.

“We’ve got a lot of varsity experience coming back,” coach Cary Finberg said.

Returning players include senior Hope Burlage, juniors Haley Belgarde, Kathrin Jetty, Tori Price and Andrea Getts, and sophomores Winter Kemppainen and Ciera Finberg. They look sharp in practice.

“We’re excited about their potential,” Finberg said. “We just need to get the girls in the right frame of mind. I want to get to the point where we can play AA teams and compete on a nightly basis.”

Burlage led the team in scoring last year, and this team looks to be far more balanced. Look for Belgarde to be a force in the paint and Finberg to run the point. Kemppainen is a talented athlete with great reach, and Getts is a good shooter. Getts missed most of last season with a knee injury. Price is speedy, and Jetty is a tough defender.

They also have some younger players who could make a mark on the varsity squad by the end of the season.

The girls have adapted to the Finberg system, where a cloying defense feeds an up-tempo transition offense. The coach noted that last year that it was all about learning a new style of basketball. This season, the girls know the system — now it’s about execution.

“I’m particularly excited about the girls,” he said.

Finberg is assisted by freshman coach Jim Peacock, junior varsity coach Cathy Finberg and volunteers Skip Schroeder, Zach Levitt and Josh Burlage.

The girls will open their season on the road at the Northwest-Southwest Class A Tip-Off tournament where they face Anaconda.