Kats trip Maidens, fall to Whitefish

By JOE SOVA - Hungry Horse News

Third-quarter production played a big role in the outcome of Columbia Falls' girls basketball conference games last weekend.

The Wildkats had their second best period of the season on Friday at home, scoring 23 points in the third en route to a 60-39 victory over Ronan. It was the Kats' first conference win of the season.

Columbia Falls and Whitefish were knotted at 23-all at halftime Saturday in Whitefish, then the Bulldogs outscored the Kats 22-7 in the pivotal third quarter and posted a 58-44 win.

While Whitefish improved to 3-1 in the Northwestern A, the Kats dropped to 1-4.

CFHS has two non-conference games this week, hosting Eureka on Thursday and playing at Glacier on Friday.

The Kats led Ronan by just two, 21-19, at intermission, then got some breathing room with the big third period.

"Ronan came out and played very, very hard," Kats coach Dan Fairbank said. "In the third quarter we switched some things up defensively. The girls calmed down in the second half.

The Kats shot 38 percent from the field and had just 17 turnovers, both improvements over earlier games.

Alyssa Ladenburg scored eight of her game-high 17 points in the third period, where Kelsey DeWit netted six of her 14.

CFHS easily won the board battle, 49-35. DeWit had nine rebounds and Sam Ladenburg added eight. Alyssa Ladenburg had four assists, and Cedar Smith gave out three assists.

Ishan Wylie led Ronan with 12 points.

Whitefish's pressure took its toll on CFHS in the third quarter, where the Kats committed 11 turnovers. For the game, the Kats had 25 giveaways.

On the 'Dogs' offensive end, effective ball movement and outside shooting propelled them to the win. Ashley Ferda connected on four 3-pointers, all in the second half. Katie Klundt had three treys in the game. Six of Whitefish's eight 3-pointers came after halftime.

"I was really happy with our first-half play," Fairbank said, "but we didn't shoot a good percentage."

Fairbank talked about the key third period.

"We made a couple of those old mistakes we made in the past and the girls kind of got rattled," he said, as the Kats had 14 of their 32 turnovers in the quarter.

With Jylisa Fields out due to a knee injury suffered Jan. 5 against Polson, Sarah Marcille was moved to the two-guard position and "did a nice job," according to Fairbank.

The Kats came out on top in rebounding, 45-32. DeWit, who had another double-double, led with 11 boards. She finished with a game-high 20 points, but was scoreless in the third period. Sam Ladenburg scored eight points, and had eight rebounds and four steals. Marcille had seven rebounds and six assists.

Klundt led Whitefish with 18 points. Ferda added 16, and Chelsea Ray had 10.

RONAN

Cheff 1 1-2 3, Luke 1 0-0 2, Larson 2 1-3 5, Strozzi 2 0-0 4, Starkel 2 1-2 5, Wylie 5 2-2 12, Crenshaw 1 1-2 3, Anderson 2 0—0 5. Totals 16 6-14 39.

COLUMBIA FALLS (1-3, 2-7)

Milliard 0 2-4 2, A. Ladenburg 6 5-8 17, Smith 2 0-2 4, Marcille 3 1-2 7, Westgard 1 0-0 2, S. Ladenburg 3 2-4 8, Hislop 1 2-2 4, Kelsey DeWit 7 0-4 14, Kayla DeWit 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 12-26 60.

Ronan 13 6 10 10 — 39

Columbia Falls 10 11 23 16 — 60

3-point goals: Anderson. Team fouls: Ronan 18, CF 15. Fouled out: None.

COLUMBIA FALLS (1-4, 2-8)

A. Ladenburg 3 1-1 7, Smith 1 2-3 3, Marcille 2 0-0 4, Westgard 0 2-2 2, S. Ladenburg 3 2-6 8, DeWit 9 2-5 20. Totals 18 8-16 44.

WHITEFISH (3-1, 5-4)

Slaybaugh 1 0-0 2, Powell 2 0-0 4, Klundt 7 1-3 18, Ferda 6 0-0 16, Melcer 0 0-2 0, Labuda 1 0-0 2, Ray 4 1-2 10, Cullen 2 0-0 4, Ormsby 1 0-2 2. Totals 24 2-9 58.

Columbia Falls 12 11 7 14 — 44

Whitefish 14 9 22 13 — 58

3-point goals: Ferda 4, Klundt 3, Ray. Team fouls: CF 10, Whitefish 19. Fouled out: Powell.