Girls playing hard, go 1-2 on the week as season winding down
Sophomore Kierra Kemppainen dribbles passed a Polson defender at home on Thursday. (JP Edge photo)
Senior Kia West looks to pass on Thursday at home against Polson. (JP Edge photo)
Junior Hope McAtee goes for a layup at home on Thursday against Polson. (JP Edge photo)
Junior Demye Rensel takes a shot at home against Polson on Thursday. (JP Edge photo)
Sophomore Taryn Borgen takes a shot against Polson on Thursday at home. (JP Edge photo)
Sophomore Emalee Alton takes a shot at home against Polson on Thursay. (JP Edge photo)
The Columbia Falls girls basketball team went 1-2 on the week. They lost to Bigfork Tuesday 58-26 at home, then beat Polson 46-36 at home Thursday for a key conference win, but then lost to the Lady Pirates on the road Saturday, 63-59 on overtime.
The girls are now 4-3 in conference play as they head into the last two weeks of the regular season.
Hope McAtee led the Wildkats with 17 points against Pirates in the home win. Taryn Brgen had 9.
Lexi Oberholtzer scored a season-high 19 against the Pirates in the OT loss. She hit three treys. McAtee had 16.
Against Bigfork, the Kats couldn’t get anything going as they were outscored 19-3 in the first quarter. Bigfork is a very talented class B team and would give most AA teams in the state a run for their money.
Coach Cary Finberg said the games were good for the young Wildkat squad, even if they didn’t get the W.
In overtime loss in particular, he said the Kats played well.
“They just made a few more plays than we did,” he said.
Still, he’d rather see the team challenged in the regular season, as it prepares them for adversity come tournament time.
“Hopefully they’ll make us better,” he said.
Against Polson away, McAtee had 12 rebounds and four assists, while Emalee Alton had 14 boards along with her 7 points.
The Wildkats face Libby Thursday on the road and then host Shelby Saturday at home. The Shelby game has a 5:30 start.
If they win out the regular season, assuming Polson doesn’t beat Browning, they would secure second in the conference heading into the divisional tourney.
