A host of Wildkats make all-tourney, all-state

Five members of the Class A state championship Columbia Falls girls basketball team have received all-tournament honors in voting by the media and tournament officials.

Peyton Kehr, a 5-foot-11 senior guard/forward, was named the MVP and to the all-tournament first team.

“That came as a shock,” said Kehr on Monday. “I just went and played my heart out. That was the cherry on top.”

She had 22 points and 10 rebounds in the 73-50 championship win over Hardin Saturday evening at the Butte Civic Center. She scored in double figures in two of the three state games and averaged 15-points per game.

Joining Kehr on the first team was teammate Kiara Burlage, a 6-0 senior guard/forward. Burlage was in double-digit scoring for all three games, averaging 14 per contest. She had 19 points in the title outing.

Sydney Hovde, a 6-1 senior forward, and Dani Douglas, a 5-4 junior guard, were second-team selections.

Hovde led the Wildkats in scoring in the 55-42 semifinal victory over Havre with 18 points and in the opening 59-35 win over Laurel with 15 points. She average 12.3 per game in Butte.

Douglas had 16 points in the final and 11 in the opener. She averaged 11.6 for the tournament.

Cydney Finberg, a 5-11 senior guard/forward, was an honorable mention pick. She had 11 points in the title test and average just over seven for the weekend.

There were 11 ballots by the voters.

On Monday, all-state, all-conference selections were announced.

Burlage was named MVP all-state and first team all-conference. Finberg and Douglas were also named all-state, first team all-conference and Kehr was named first team all-conference.

Hovde was named second-team all-conference and coach Cary Finberg was named coach of the year.