Kats cruise over Blue Devils in opener

The Columbia Falls girls basketball team dispatched Corvallis at home Saturday in its season opener, 57-41. The Wildkats were led by Peyton Kehr with 18 points and Kiara Burlage had 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Kats shared the ball well, they had 13 assists by the half and 18 for the game, noted coach Cary Finberg. He was pleased with the girls’ play, especially on defense in the second and third quarters. The Kats had a lot of contributions from many players. Miranda Livingston at the point had four assists, six points and just two turnovers, Allyson Gimbel had a strong game with five rebounds and five steals to go with her six points and Sydney Hovde came off the bench and scored seven points after playing 20 minutes on the junior varsity squad.

The girls face Hamilton and Anaconda in the Northwest-Southwest A tip-off tournament this weekend. They play Hamilton at 4 p.m. Friday and Anaconda at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Hamilton is the defending state champions, but lost a lot of girls to graduation.

Finberg said he wasn’t so much worried about the opponents as he was the Kats improving. The Kats were without Cydney Finberg in the opener due to illness and a sprained ankle. Guard Ellie Johnson also left the game early with an ankle injury. Both were being evaluated this week to see if they could play.

Corvallis 10 4 4 6 — 24

C. Falls 21 13 14 9 — 57

CORVALLIS — Tully 6, Doyle 4, Sanderson 7, Halderson 4, Stoker 1, Wright 2.

COLUMBIA FALLS — Sydney Grilley 6, Haylie Peacock 2, Ellie Johnson 2, Peyton Kehr 18, Miranda Livingston 6, Kiara Burlage 10, Allyson Gimbel 6, Sydney Hovde 7.