Girls win Divisional, face Hamilton in first round

You wouldn’t think a team with only one senior and not an abundance of varsity girls basketball experience would go 9-1 in conference games and go on to win a divisional title. But the Wildkats of Columbia Falls have accomplished those feats.

After easing past Whitefish 54-33 in the semifinals of the Northwestern A Divisional Tournament on Friday at Glacier High School, the Wildkats held on for dear life — earning a 55-53 overtime victory over a surging Bigfork team in Saturday’s title game.

The ‘Kats take a 13-7 overall record into the Class A state tournament Thursday. They face Hamilton, the runner-up in the Southwestern A Divisional, to open the tourney at 12:30 p.m. at the Butte Civic Center. The Lady Broncs (15-6) slipped by Frenchtown 34-29 in a Monday challenge game. The C-Falls-Hamilton winner plays the Glendive-Havre victor in the semifinals at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Glendive, the Eastern Divisional champion, has a 20-0 record.

On the other side of the bracket Belgrade (14-6) plays Miles City (15-6) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, and Bigfork (15-7) faces defending state champion Anaconda (16-4) at 8 p.m.

C-Falls led Bigfork 36-30 after three quarters, but the Valkyries rallied to tie on a Mallery Knoll free throw with :39 remaining. Alyssa Ladenburg, the ‘Kats’ sole senior, tied the game with 11.8 seconds to go with a free throw.

The ‘Kats led 53-51 when Kelsey DeWit sank one of two free throws with :32 to go, but Knoll responded with a driving 8-footer to tie.

Ladenburg was a perfectionist at finding Kelsey and Kayla DeWit inside all season, but none of her passes was more important than the one she made in the final seconds against Bigfork. Kelsey was fouled on a shot after a perfect Ladenburg lob pass with 3.6 seconds left. She canned both charities, the Vals missed a 30-foot shot at the buzzer and the Kats were the divisional champs.

“I was so nervous,” Kelsey said after the post-game celebration. “I told myself, ‘I can make these and win the game. I’m not going to miss.’”

DeWit was 9-for-13 from the foul line — scoring 23 points, pulling down 19 rebounds and blocking two shots.

Rather than pack it in inside against C-Falls’ height, Bigfork extended its defense with the goal to slow down the ‘Kats’ vaunted play in the paint.

“Bigfork came back big time at the very end,” C-Falls coach Dan Fairbank said. “They knew what to do defensively against us and put us on our heels.

“I thought the kids really played well. They worked really good as a team,” the coach added.

The youthful ‘Kats grew up individually and as a team in the very tight title game.

“All these kids will know what it’s like to be under a monstrous pressure game, when we go to state and next year when we come back to divisionals. We have a ton of tournament experience because 10 kids played tonight.”

Kayla DeWit netted 14 points and had seven rebounds in the title game. Ladenburg added seven points and five key assists.

C-Falls won the board battle, 47-35. The ‘’Kats had 20 turnovers and Bigfork only six.

Knoll led Bigfork with 16 points, 11 of those in the fourth quarter and overtime combined. Roxy Thurman had 14, and Caitlin Charlebois 12.

C-FALLS WAS 22-for-29 from the free throw line in the semifinal win over Whitefish, going 18-for-22 in the second half.

Ladenburg had a huge game for the ‘Kats, with 18 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and seven steals. Junior Shay Grilley added 14, going 6-for-7 from the field, and Kayla DeWit had 10 points and eight rebounds.

Fairbank scouted Hamilton during its challenge game.

“They’re a very talented team. They have a couple of quick little guards,” the coach said. “They put a ton of man-to-man pressure on you.”

The Lady Broncs are led inside by 6-foot-2 senior Ashley Albert and 5-10 junior Annie Shultz.

Ladenburg indicated the ‘Kats will play at state with confidence and another goal in mind.

“We kind of let down in a few spots and we have to get back with a new focus,” Ladenburg said of preparing for state. “We really haven’t had our top game. I think if we all come into it and are ready we’ll win a championship.”

WHITEFISH (33)

Jessie Slaybaugh 2 0-0 6, Torie Powell 0 1-2 1, Kate Klundt 4 4-6 12, Heather Melcer 2 0-0 5, Danielle McCully 1 0-0 2, Olivia Nagler 1 0-0 2, McCara Cullen 1 0-0 3, Adele FauntLeRoy 1 0-0 2. Totals 12 5-8 33.

COLUMBIA FALLS (54)

Danielle Gilley 0 0-1 0, Brooke Cady 1 4-4 6, Kayla DeWit 2 6-8 10, Alyssa Ladenburg 4 10-12 18, Shay Grilley 6 0-2 14, Maddie Stolte 0 2-2 2, Kelsey DeWit 2 0-0 4. Totals 15 22-29 54.

Whitefish    15    5      5      8 — 33

Columbia Falls    16    9    13    16 — 54

3-point goals: Slaybaugh 2, Melcer, Cullen; Grilley 2. Total fouls: Whitefish 24, Columbia Falls 11. Fouled out: Powell, FauntLeRoy.

BIGFORK (53)

Mallery Knoll 7 1-4 16, Quinci Paine 1 0-0 2, Quindee Averill 2 0-0 4, Roxy Thurman 4 5-8 14, Caitlin Charlebois 4 3-6 12, Kailey Fierro 1 3-6 5. Totals 19 12-25 53.

COLUMBIA FALLS (55)

McKenzie Reeve 2 0-0 4, Gilley 1 1-2 3, Cady 1 0-2 2, Kayla DeWit 6 2-4 14, Ladenburg 2 3-8 7, Grilley 1 0-0 2, Shiloh Knudsen 0 0-1 0, Kelsey DeWit 7 9-13 23. Totals 20 15-30 55.

Bigfork    10      5    15    16    7 — 53

Columbia Falls    13    10    13    10    9 — 55

3-point goals: Knoll, Thurman, Charlebois. Total fouls: Bigfork 24, Columbia Falls 20. Fouled out: Thurman.