CFHS girls tangle with Whitefish in Divisional tournament

By JOE SOVA / Hungry Horse News

It will be Columbia Falls against Whitefish to open the Northwest A Divisional Basketball Tournament at 6 p.m. Thursday at Glacier High School. Whitefish has the No. 3 seed, and CFHS is seeded sixth. The Kats and Ronan tied for fifth in the conference and split during the regular season. Divisional seeding came down to a coin flip, won by Ronan.

Polson made it a sweep of the regular season series against the Kats, recording a 56-41 win last Thursday at CFHS.

In the quest for a Class A State Tournament berth, the Kats must finish first or second at the Divisional tourney. The state tournament is March 6-8 in Hamilton.

Bigfork went unbeaten in Northwest A Conference play and has the top Divisional seed. Libby is seeded second.

The Kats held Polson to 21 points in the first half, but trailed by four at intermission. In the first 30 seconds of the second half, Rochelle Woods connected on a 3-pointer and another field goal, pushing the Pirates' lead to 26-17.

Late in the third period, a 10-0 run propelled Polson to a 15-point lead, 36-21, capped by a Jessica Buckless 3-pointer. The Pirates shot well from the perimeter in that period.

Three free throws by Buckless allowed Polson to take a 39-23 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Kats would not let the Pirates pull away, though. Sarah Marcille — in one of the senior's best offensive games of the season — nailed a 3-pointer to close the CFHS deficit to 15. The Kats clawed to within 45-35 with 3:30 remaining, but could get no closer than 10 points down the stretch.

"We missed some defensive assignments," Kats coach Dan Fairbank said. "We didn't rebound very well."

The Kats led the league with 35 rebounds per game, but gave up 14 offensive boards to Polson.

Fairbank talked about the Kats' ability to make a comeback.

"We clamped down defensively. We started pounding it inside," the coach said.

The Kats shot a better percentage than in past games and had 22 turnovers, near the season low.

CFHS has its opportunities at the free throw line, but converted only eight of 19 charities. Polson was 16-for-28 from the stripe.

Marcille paced the Kats with 12 points. Sophomore Kelsey DeWitt added 11. Freshman Kayla DeWitt scored nine, all in the fourth period. Sam Ladenburg had seven rebounds, and Kelsey DeWitt added six. Alyssa Ladenburg had five steals and four assists.

Fairbank had praise for Marcille, who had the dozen points and only one turnover.

Merilee Mowbray led Polson's balanced scoring with 12 points. Woods had 10. Ten players scored for the Pirates.

WHITEFISH SWEPT THE regular season series from the Kats, winning by margins of 14 and 11 points. Scores were 58-44 on Jan. 12, and 51-40 on Feb. 9.

The Kats can play with the rival Dogs. CFHS trimmed a 14-point deficit to four in the final minute of their last meeting, then Whitefish put the game away at the free throw line.

"In reality we have played Whitefish better than we have Polson," said Fairbank, who expected to face the Pirates to open the Divisional tourney.

The Kats and Dogs were tied at halftime in their first meeting, and was in a position to win in the rematch.

Whitefish led the league in scoring average (55 points per game) and free throw shooting (64 percent). Ashley Ferda was first in 3-pointers made with 38, free throw shooting (81 percent) and steals (4.5 per game), and was second in scoring (15.7 points) and assists (5.7 per game). Katie Klundt is averaging 12 points per game. Chelsea Ray, who netted 16 points in the last game against the Kats, is a scoring threat.

"We have to take care of those three and be patient on offense, and try to get the ball down inside and take advantage of our size," Fairbank said. "They're a solid ball club. They have good scorers and they have several people who can handle the ball well."

Kelsey DeWitt led the conference in rebounding with 9.1 per game. Sam Ladenburg was third, and Marcille fourth.

"We can play with anyone. It's just consistency," Fairbank said in looking at post-season play. "Hopefully all the pieces fall together."

POLSON (4-5, 9-8)

Buckless 1 4-5 7, James 1 2-2 5, Benson 0 0-2 0, Woods 4 0-0 10, Kelley 0 1-2 1, Mowbray 4 4-6 12, Pete 1 1-2 3, Davey 2 2-3 6, Newton 1 2-6 4, Hislop 2 0-0 4, Havlovick 2 0-0 4. Totals 18 16-28 56.

COLUMBIA FALLS (1-9, 3-15)

Fields 0 0-0 0, A. Ladenburg 3 0-4 6, Smith 0 0-0 0, Marcille 4 3-4 12, Westgard 0 0-3 0, S. Ladenburg 1 0-0 2, Hislop 0 1-3 1, Kelsey DeWitt 4 3-4 11, Kayla DeWitt 4 1-1 9. Totals 16 8-19 41.

Polson 7 14 18 17 — 56

Columbia Falls 6 11 6 18 — 41

3-point goals: Buckless, James, Woods 2; Marcille. Team fouls: Polson 18, CF 20. Fouled out: None.