Wildkats split pair of physical matchups
Josie Windauer battles for a loose ball against the Lady Indians in Browning Thursday. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Ryley Kehr pulls up for a jumper in overtime against the Lady Indians in Browning Thursday. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Wildkat Savvy Ellis battles Hamilton’s Mariola Tesoro for a loose ball Saturday. (Jeremy Weber photo)
Wildkat Ryley Kehr drives past Hamilton’s Phoebe Howard during the second quarter Saturday. (Jeremy Weber photo)
It was a bruising week for the Wildkats basektball team as they split a pair of physical games against Browning and Hamilton.
The Kats erased a 20-point deficit in the fourth quarter in a tough matchup at Browning Thursday, only to fall to the Lady Indians in overtime, 70-67, but bounced back with a 39-21 home win over Hamilton Saturday in a contest that resembled a football game at times.
The Wildkats led the Lady Indians 29-25 at the half in Browning Thursday, but fell behind 58-38 after a pair of Lady Indian threes with seven minutes to play in regulation.
A LaKia Hill three got the comeback started as the Wildkats used a 22-2 run to cut the Browning lead to two with a minute to play on a three by Maddie Robison.
Trista Cowan put the Kats up 61-60 with a three-point play with 12.4 seconds to play, but the Lady Indians knocked down the front end of a 1-and-1 with 5.4 seconds to force overtime.
Ryley Kehr scored all six Wildkat points in overtime, but Columbia Falls could not overcome Browning’s 9-11 shooting from the foul line in the extra period.
“We just told them to keep battling and then something clicked and we started hitting shots. The girls played with a lot of heart, it’s just unfortunate that we had such a deficit to overcome,” head coach Cary Finberg said.
“To beat a good team on the road, you generally have to go in and shoot fairly well and take care of the ball, and we just didn’t do that.”
Kehr led the Kats in scoring with 20 points and added 13 rebounds while Hill added 14, Josie Windauer had 11 and Cowan had eight points and 14 rebounds.
The Kats faced an even more physical challenge at home Saturday as they battled Hamilton in a game that featured more turnovers than a German bakery. The teams combined for 70 miscues in a game where offense was at a premium.
The Kats scored just two first-quarter points but took a 10-8 lead into the break. Columbia Falls found its offense in the third quarter, outscoring the Lady Broncs 19-3 to pull ahead for good.
“The way that game was being officiated and being played, there were going to be a lot of turnovers. It just turned into one of those physical games,” Finberg said. “We are not going to back down in those kind of games and handled it better in the second half.”
Cowan led the way for the Kats with 13 points and 11 rebounds in the win while Windauer added 11 points.
The Kats were back on the road Tuesday as they played at Ronan and they will travel to take on Corvallis in their final road game of the regular season Saturday.
Columbia Falls 11 18 9 23 6 - 67
Browning 12 13 27 9 9 - 70
SCORING - C-FALLS: Ryley Kehr 20, LaKia Hill 14, Josie Windauer 11, Trista Cowan 8, Maddie Robison 7, Hannah Schweikert 5, Graceanne Sevesind 2. BROWNING: Tamika Guardipee 22, Chalissa Kipp 11, Chaslin Kipp 8, Veronica Reed 7, Danaiya Polk 6, Walker Running Crane 6, Dulci Skunkcap 6, Lacie Goss 2, Tatum Running Crane 2. REBOUNDS - C-FALLS: (53) Cowan 14, Windauer 14, Kehr 13, Schweikert 5, Robison 3, Hill 2, Sevesind 1, Savvy Ellis 1. BROWNING: (43) Guardipee 11, Skunkcap 6, Chalissa Kipp 5, Goss 4, W. Running Crane 4, Madplume Kelsey 3, Chaslin Kipp 3, T. Running Crane 3, Polk 2, Reed 2. STEALS - C-FALLS: (13) Kehr 5, Robison 2, Windauer 2, Cowan 1, Ellis 1, Hill 1, Sevesind 1. BROWNING: (15) Chaslin Kipp 4, Chalissa Kipp 3, Skunkcap 3, W. Running Crane 2, Reed 2, Kelsey 1. ASSISTS - C-FALLS: (13) Kehr 4, Windauer 3, Cowan 2, Hill 2, Ellis 1, Sevesind 1. BROWNING: (16) Chaslin Kipp 4, W. Running Crane 4, Kelsey 3, Reed 2, Skunkcap 2, Chaslin Kipp 1. BLOCKS - C-FALLS: (3) Cowan, Hill, Kehr. BROWNING: (3) Guardipee, Chaslin Kipp, Reed. TURNOVERS - C-FALLS: (26) Kehr 6, Hill 6, Windauer 4, Cowan 3, Ellis 3, Robison 2, Schweikert 2. BROWNING: (16) Skunkcap 5, Chalissa Kipp 3, Reed 3, Chaslin Kipp 2, W. Running Crane 2, T. Running Crane 1. SHOOTING - C-FALLS: 21-69 (30%) FG, 20-39 (51%) FT, 5-23 (21%) 3PT. BROWNING: 25-63 (40%) FG, 14-20 (70%) FT, 6-14 (42%) 3PT.
Hamilton 6 2 3 10 - 21
Columbia Falls 2 8 19 10 - 39
SCORING - C-FALLS: Trista Cowan 13, Josie Windauer 11, Ryley Kehr 7, Maddie Robison 4, Paige Burger 2, Hannah Schweikert 2. HAMILTON: Katelyn Dickemore 5, Abby Johnson 5, Lauren Ryter 3, Mariola Tesoro 3, Sophia Doyle 2, Ani Mason 2, Maggie Ringer 2. REBOUNDS - C-FALLS: (27) Cowan 11, Windauer 4, LaKia Hill 3, Kehr 3, Alyssa Blankenship 2, Savvy Ellis 2, Graceanne Sevesind 2. HAMILTON: (21) Ryter 11, Ringer 6, Dickemore 1, Madi Drake 1, Johnson 1, Mason 1. STEALS - C-FALLS: (20) Cowan 6, Kehr 4, Ellis 3, Hill 2, Schweikert 2, Cheyanne Johnston-Heniz 1, Robison 1, Windauer 1. HAMILTON: (12) Johnson 2, Mason 2, Ryter 2, Jorden Taggart 2, Dickemore 1, Doyle 1, Drake 1, Ringer 1. ASSISTS - C-FALLS: (11) Hill 4, Kehr 3, Cowan 2, Blankenship 1, Windauer 1. HAMILTON: (4) Mason 2, Ringer 1, Ryter 1. BLOCKS - C-FALLS: (1) Cowan. HAMILTON: (1) Ryter. TURNOVERS - C-FALLS: (29) Kehr 6, Windauer 6, Hill 5, Schweikert 4, Cowan 3, Johnston-Heinz 2, Robison 2, Ellis 1. HAMILTON: (41) Tesoro 9, Ryter 8, Johnson 5, Taggart 5, Mason 4, Ringer 4, Doyle 3, Dickemore 2, Drake 1. SHOOTING - C-FALLS: 16-53 (30%) FG, 6-11 (54%) FT, 1-11 (9%) 3PT. HAMILTON: 6-20 (30%) FG, 7-12 (58%) FT, 3-12 (25%) 3PT.