Wildkats open season with wins in Missoula, fall to Glacier
Trista Cowan goes up for two of her eight points in the Wildkats’ win over Dillon in Missoula Friday. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Hannah Gedlaman shoots a free throw against Dillon at the Tip-Off Tournament. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Ryley Kehr goes up for a shot in the second quarter against Dillon. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Ryley Kehr takes a shot against Dillon. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Kiera Brown takes a shot against Dillon in the Tip-Off Tournament. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Hannah Schweikert drives to the hoop against Dillon. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Ryley Kehr looks to pass the ball against Dillon. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Trista Cowan pulls down a rebound over a pair of Dillon players. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Hannah Gedlaman takes the ball inside against the Beavers. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Trista Cowen takes the ball inside against Dillon. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Trista Cowen shoots a free throw. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Dani Douglas goes up for three of her nine points against Dillon. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Dani Douglas brings the ball up against the Dillon Beavers. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Josie Windauer takes a shot against Dillon. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Ryley Kehr goes up for two. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Hannah Schweikert takes the ball inside against Dillon. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Hannah Schweikert takes the ball inside against Dillon. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Hannah Shweikert looks to make a move against Dillon. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Ryler Kehr makes a move to the basket. (Jeremy Weber photo)
The Wildkats opened their basketball season with a pair of wins in Missoula over the weekend as they defeated Dillon and Frenchtown at the Northwest A Tip-Off Tournament at the University of Montana.
It was all Columbia Falls in the first game of the tournament Friday as the Wildkats defeated Dillon, 62-40, before picking up a 46-30 win over Frenchtown Saturday.
“I was kind of surprised with how well we started against Dillon, but at the same time, these girls have been waiting for their turn and they came out with a lot of confidence. When you do that, good things are going to happen,” head coach Cary Finberg said.
The Wildkats used a strong defensive effort to help build a sizeable first-half lead against Dillon in their first game of the tournament, holding the Beavers to just two points in the opening quarter. Columbia Falls took a 19-2 lead into the second frame.
The strong defense continued in the second quarter, as the Wildkats outscored Dillon 13-6 to grab a 32-8 halftime lead.
The Wildkats continued to build their lead in the third quarter as they cruised to a 22-point victory.
“We are going to hang our hat on our defense this year, just like we did last year. We are not going to be able to shoot the ball as well this year as we did last year, so we are going to have to create offense with our defense,” Finberg said about the defense in the win.
The Wildkat offense also looked impressive in the victory as Columbia Falls picked up 22 assists on 28 made field goals in the contest.
Ryley Kehr led the Kats with 24 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals in the win, while Hannah Gedlaman added 18 points, seven assists and four rebounds. Dani Douglas scored nine, Trista Cowan added eight points and eight rebounds, Savannah Ellis had four points and Hannah Schweikert scored two.
The Wildkats had another strong opening half against Frenchtown in the second game of the tournament Saturday, but struggled somewhat in the second half.
“We got off to a good start, but for whatever reason did not play very well in the second half. Overall, though, we played three really good quarters at this tournament and it was a good way to get the season started,” Finberg said.
Columbia Falls jumped out to a 28-9 lead at the half against the Lady Broncs, but committed 15 turnovers and were outscored in the second half, 21-18.
Gedlaman led the Wildkats with 17 points and seven rebounds in the win, while Kehr and Cowan each added eight points and seven boards. Ellis scored six, Douglas had five points and four assists and Diana Vasquez scored two.
The Wildkats will be at Stevensville Friday. The team will host their home opener Saturday as they take on Flathead.
The Wildkats suffered their first loss of the season Tuesday as they came up short in Kalispell against Glacier.
A close game through three quarters, the Wolfpack outscored the Kats 18-8 in the fourth quarter to pull away.
Kehr led the Wildkat effort with 12 points, while Gedlaman added nine, Douglas had seven, Cowan scored six and Ellis added two points.