Kats rise to challenge, headed to Butte

The Columbia Falls High School girls basketball team is headed to the state Class A tournament in Butte this weekend, but they didn’t take the direct route.

The girls downed Polson 48-38 in a challenge game Feb. 25 in Ronan. Junior Haley Belgarde came up huge with 20 points in the win. She also had seven rebounds.

The Lady Pirates gave the Wildkats a run for their money, as they cut the Kats’ lead to three in the third quarter, but the C-Falls girls hung tough, forcing a host of Polson turnovers and scoring 20 points in the fourth quarter.

The Kats now face Billings Central, the No. 1 seed in the east, on Thursday, Feb. 28, at 12:30 p.m. at the Butte Civic Center.

The Kats were forced into a challenge game after they lost to Frenchtown on Saturday night in the championship game, 49-37. The Kats’ shooting went cold in that game, as they were just 1-for-9 from the three-point line and just 32 percent from the rest of the field. They also shot just 25 percent from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Frenchtown shot 6-of-8 from the three-point line, and Vanessa Stavich dropped 18 points to lead the Lady Broncs.

Even so, they were down by just four points in the third quarter, but Frenchtown pulled away down the stretch as Belgarde got into foul trouble and the Kats made some costly mental mistakes that resulted in untimely turnovers.

The girls made it to the finals by beating Libby 38-30. That game looked to be a blowout, as the Kats were up 30-10 after three quarters, but the Lady Loggers scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to make it interesting.

Coach Cary Finberg said the girls had nothing to hang their heads about after the Frenchtown game.

“I thought we played well,” he said. “We competed and played hard. We just couldn’t put the ball in the basket.”

The team is still very young, with two starting sophomores, a junior and often a freshman in the mix as well.

“We’re young,” Finberg said. “We’re inexperienced in the big game moment.”

Now the season resets as the girls head to the big dance for the first time in several years. The Kats were 17-4 on the season.

Polson 8 4 13 13 - 38

Columbia Falls 10 10 8 20 - 48

POLSON - Mackenzie Banner 14, Heidi Rausch 9, Malia Hamel 6, Tegan Bauer 5, Hallie Hovenkotter 2, Anna DiGiallonardo 1, Monika Frame 1.

COLUMBIA FALLS - Haley Belgarde 20, Winter Kemppainen 9, Hope Burlage 7, Ciera Finberg 5, Shannon Hay 4, Andrea Getts 3.

Frenchtown 10 15 13 11 - 49

Col. Falls 5 13 13 6 - 37

FRENCHTOWN - Vanessa Stavish 18, Holly Jacobs 11, Haley Cyr 6, Abby Indreland 5, Larissa Berg 4, Kayla Blood 4, Alli Moe 1.

COLUMBIA FALLS - Haley Belgarde 12, Winter Kemppainen 11, Ciera Finberg 5, Shannon Hay 5, Andrea Getts 4.

Libby 3 2 4 21 - 30

Columbia Falls 9 10 11 8 - 38

LIBBY - Hannah England 11, Hailey Craig 9, Dayln Germany 6, Devon Gallagher 4.

COLUMBIA FALLS - Haley Belgarde 11, Hope Burlage 9, Andrea Getts 8, Winter Kemppainen 6, Tori Price 2, Shannon Hay 2.