Kats pick up the pieces, take third at state

After faltering in the first game, the Columbia Falls girls basketball team rallied to take third place at the state Class A tournament in Hamilton last week.

The Wildkats lost the opener to Butte Central 49-47 on March 5 but battled back in the consolation bracket the next day as they cruised to a 71-31 victory over Fergus County High School of Lewistown. On Saturday, the Kats edged Hamilton 52-41 and then pounded a familiar conference foe, Frenchtown, 67-34 in the consolation final.

But it was the Butte Central game that won’t soon be forgotten. The Kats had a six-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, but couldn’t finish off the pesky Maroons. Winter Kemppainen, who had been leading the Kats throughout the game, fouled out with less than two minutes to play, and that opened the door for the Maroons.

The Kats made some key turnovers down the stretch, missed some free throws, leaving the score tied at 47 apiece with 23 seconds left and the Maroons with the ball. The Maroons’ first shot missed, but Sierra Pica put in the rebound and a desperation heave by the Kats at half-court missed the mark as time expired.

The Kats had 18 turnovers to Butte Central’s eight. Kemppainen had 15 points in the loss. Butte Central had eight more offensive rebounds and shot the ball 20 more times than the Kats.

The Kats showed their moxie through the rest of tourney, however, and why they were ranked No. 1 all season long. Twelve Kats were in the scoring column in the blowout against Lewistown, as the Kats held the Golden Eagles to just 11 points in the first half.

Havre proved to be a tougher opponent. The game was tied at 14 apiece in the first quarter, but the Kats outscored the Blue Ponies 12-3 in the second quarter. The Kats were 22 of 29 from the free throw line, which helped a lot in the victory.

Against the Lady Broncs, the Kats shot out to a 34-15 lead at the half and never looked back. The Kats held the Lady Broncs to just two points in the third quarter. Kemppainen led the squad with 18 points, Ciera Finberg had 14.

Kemppainen was named to the all-tournament team. Hamilton beat Butte Central for the title, 58-46.

“Winning a state championship isn’t easy,” coach Cary Finberg said. “This team was good enough to do it. I thought we were ready and I thought we were prepared ... That falls on me.”

The Kats finished the year at 22-2 overall, and they should be in the hunt again next year. While they lose Kemppainen and Ciera Finberg to graduation, this squad often had three sophomores on the court most of the season, in Cydney Finberg, Peyton Kehr and Kiara Burlage. Kehr was the team’s top scorer off the bench. They also return juniors Sydney Grilley, Allyson Gimbel, Miranda Livingston and Ellie Johnson.

Finberg said the team has accomplished a lot over the past couple of years, going 44-4 overall. They also have a lot to build on in the coming seasons.

Consolation final

Frenchtown 11 4 2 17 — 34

Columbia Falls 20 14 18 15 — 67

FRENCHTOWN — Emma Pyron 1-6 0-0 2, Haley Cyr 3-8 0-0 6, Laci Willett 1-3 0-1 2, Krista Hebnes 0-4 0-0 0, Allie Moe 2-3 2-2 7, Brooke Yarnall 2-6 0-0 5, Allie Hochhalter 1-1 0-0 2, Lacey Hochhalter 1-6 1-1 3, Megan Delaney 1-4 0-0 2, Alivia Williams 2-4 1-2 5. Totals: 14-45 4-8 34.

COLUMBIA FALLS — Summer Burlage 1-4 0-0 3, Ciera Finberg 6-10 0-0 14, Sydney Grilley 2-6 0-0 5, Cydney Finberg 1-2 0-0 2, Ellie Johnson 1-2 0-0 3, Peyton Kehr 2-5 3-4 8, Winter Kemppainen 8-13 2-3 18, Miranda Livingston 1-2 0-0 2, Kiara Burlage 2-4 3-4 7, Allyson Gimbel 1-3 2-2 4, Sydney Hovde 0-0 1-2 1. Totals: 25-51 11-15 67.

3-point goals – Frenchtown 2-11 (Moe 1-1, Yarnall 1-4), C. Falls 6-19 (Ci. Finberg 2-5, Johnson 1-2, S. Burlage 1-3, Jonson 1-2, Grilley 1-4, Kehr 1-4). Total fouls – Frenchtown 12, C. Falls 12. Fouled out – none. Rebounds – Frenchtown 19 (L. Hochhalter 5), C. Falls 32 (Kemppainen 9).

Columbia Falls 11 11 14 11 — 47

Butte Central 11 7 12 19 — 49

COLUMBIA FALLS – Summer Burlage 0-2 0-0 0, Ciera Finberg 1-6 1-2 3, Sydney Grilley 0-0 0-0 0, Cydney Finberg 1-4 0-0 3, Ellie Johnson 3-4 2-2 9, Peyton Kehr 1-3 0-0 3, Winter Kemppainen 6-10 3-7 15, Miranda Livingston 1-2 0-0 2, Kiara Burlage 3-6 3-5 9, Allyson Gimbel 1-1 1-1 3. Totals: 17-38 10-17 47.

BUTTE CENTRAL – Kloie Thatcher 2-6 2-2 8, Mollie Peoples 6-19 0-0 13, Sierra Pica 3-5 0-5 6, Emily St. John 5-10 0-0 10, Kate Ossello 0-0 1-1 1, Shawnee Hjelt 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor Wahl 0-1 0-0 0, Ryan Trudnowski 4-15 3-7 11, Megan Michelotti 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 20-57 6-15 49.

3-point goals – C. Falls 3-12 (Cy. Finberg 1-2, Johnson 1-2, Kehr 1-2), Central 3-11 (Thatcher 2-5, Peoples 1-5). Total fouls – C. Falls 16, Central 16. Fouled out – Kemppainen. Rebounds – C. Falls 34 (Kemppainen 6, K. Burlage 6), Central 33 (Trudnowski 10).

Columbia Falls 12 22 19 18 — 71

Lewistown 6 5 8 12 — 31

COLUMBIA FALLS — Summer Burlage 1-2 0-0 3, Katie Price 1-1 0-0 2, Ciera Finberg 4-6 3-3 12, Sydney Grilley 1-2 0-0 2, Cydney Finberg 1-4 0-2 2, Ellie Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Peyton Kehr 3-7 0-0 7, Winter Kemppainen 4-9 0-0 8, Miranda Livingston 3-3 2-4 9, Kiara Burlage 3-5 2-3 9, Allyson Gimbel 4-7 4-4 12, Sydney Hovde 2-4 1-2 5. Totals: 27-52 12-18 71.

LEWISTOWN — Maria Henderson 0-4 0-0 0, Sydney Wier 0-2 0-0 0, Jessica Kindzerski 2-3 2-2 6, Tara Olson 3-7 0-0 9, Carley Carpenter 0-3 0-0 0, Lexie Anderson 0-5 0-2 0, Paige Towne 0-0 1-2 1, Kyra Fleharty 2-10 0-0 4, Karlie Southworth 0-0 2-2 2, Jaree Mane 4-19 0-0 9. Totals: 11-53 5-8 31.

3-point goals – C. Falls 5-11 (Kehr 1-1, Livingston 1-1, K. Burlage 1-1, S. Burlage 1-2, Ci. Finberg 1-3), Lewistown 4-22 (Olson 3-7, Mane 1-6). Total fouls – C. Falls 11, Lewistown 17. Fouled out – Carpenter. Rebounds – C. Falls 35 (Kemppainen 9), Lewistown 26 (Anderson 4).

Columbia Falls 14 12 13 13 — 52

Havre 14 3 9 15 — 41

COLUMBIA FALLS – Summer Burlage 1-4 0-0 2, Ciera Finberg 1-7 6-8 8, Sydney Grilley 0-0 2-2 2, Cydney Finberg 1-1 3-4 5, Ellie Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Peyton Kehr 4-6 2-2 11, Winter Kemppainen 4-8 1-4 9, Miranda Livingston 1-4 2-3 5, Kiara Burlage 1-5 4-4 6, Allyson Gimbel 1-1 2-2 4. Totals: 14-38 22-29 52.

HAVRE – Ceyara Plante 0-5 1-2 1, Dani Wagner 7-17 2-3 16, Morgan Mazurkiewicz 5-11 5-5 15, Tori Mazurkiewicz 0-1 0-1 0, Naomi Terry 1-2 0-0 2, Marca Herron 1-2 0-0 3, Holly Purkett 0-0 1-3 1, Lindsey Kudrna 1-1 1-2 3. Totals: 15-39 10-16 41.

3-point goals – C. Falls 2-10 (Livingston 1-1, Kehr 1-2), Havre 1-13 (Herron 1-2). Total fouls – C. Falls 18, Havre 22. Fouled out – Terry, Purkett. Rebounds – C. Falls 26 (Kemppainen 11), Havre 25 (Wagner 6).