Columbia Falls girls finish regular season at 17-1 for third year in a row

The roll continues. The Columbia Falls girls basketball team edged Corvallis on the road last Thursday, 53-45 and hammered Whitefish 79-35 away Saturday. The Wildkats finished the regular season with a 17-1 mark and a 6-0 record in conference play as they head into the postseason. This is the third year in a row the team has gone 17-1 in the regular season.

The Corvallis game was a bit of a struggle, as the Kats were up by just a point, 17-16 at the half and were down 35-33 after three quarters. But the Kats scored 20 in the final frame and held Corvallis to just 10 for the win. Kiara Burlage had 21 points and 11 rebounds in the win. Sydney Grilley had 15 points and four steals. 

Coach Cary Finberg said it was the team’s worst defensive performance of the season. He said it was a good lesson for the girls — they need to come ready to play or they could lose any game.

Against Whitefish, the Kats shot out to a 22-10 lead in the first and never looked back. Peyton Kehr had 23, while Burlage had 14 to lead the Kats.

Against the Bulldogs they had 27 assists and shot 57 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Bulldogs, 35-11.

The girls open postseason play in Butte on Feb. 25 when they likely open play against Corvallis in a rematch. The real drama could come if the top seeds make it to the finals. On the other end of the bracket sits Butte Central, the No. 1 seed in the Southwest. Central has yet to lose a game this year and has basically the same squad that dropped the Kats in the opening round of the state A playoffs last year.

Finberg said the focus is on the first game and getting to state. But he wasn’t pleased with the schedule, because the Kats will have a nearly two-week layoff before playing again. It’s not a good thing for momentum, especially when all the other teams in the conference are still playing games the last week of the season.

“That’s a big disadvantage for us,” he said.

The top four teams earn a berth to state, but it’s almost always better to go in the tourney a No. 1 seed than a lower seed.  

Columbia Falls 22 21 20 16 — 79

Whitefish 10 8 12 5 — 35

COLUMBIA FALLS—Katie Price 2, Sydney Grilley 2, Jannah Gedlaman 2, Cydney Finberg 6, Ellie Johnson 2, Peyton Kehr 23, Ryley Kehr 6, Kiara Burlage 14, Allyson Gimbel 9, Sydney Hovde 13.

WHITEFISH—Dani Douglas 11, Coral Schulz 7, Allie Schulz 9, Haley Nicholson 2, Makenna Benbrook 2, Allix Larsen 4.

Columbia Falls 9 8 16 20 — 53

Corvallis 8 8 19 10 — 45

COLUMBIA FALLS – Sydney Grilley 15, Cydney Finberg 2, Ellie Johnson 2, Peyton Kehr 4, Miranda Livingston 5, Kiara Burlage 21, Sydney Hovde 4.

CORVALLIS – Taia Tully 3, Kira Doyle 5, Corinne Sanderson 9, Penny Jessop 4, Calla Haldorson 12, Genesis Keith 5, Tayler Wright 7.