Turnovers, poor shooting plague Wildkats in losses

By JOE SOVA - Hungry Horse News

Columbia Falls had the defense, but lacked in offensive execution in a pair of varsity girls basketball losses last weekend on the road.

Libby held an 18-11 halftime lead over the Wildkats, then held on in the second half to post a 36-26 Northwestern A Conference victory.

The Kats suffered 42 turnovers in a 46-34 loss to Polson on Saturday. With the losses, CFHS is 0-3 in league games and 1-7 overall.

"We've having a difficult time putting the ball in the hole [basket]," Kats head coach Dan Fairbank said. "We're more focused on getting girls to take the shot. As the season progresses we can narrow down our shot selection."

The Kats shot just 23 percent from the field against Libby and had 24 turnovers. They improved to 29-percent shooting against Polson.

According to Fairbank, the CFHS defense was "outstanding" against Libby. The Kats held 6-foot sophomore Jackie Mee below her scoring average.

Kelsey DeWit, the Kats' 6-foot soph, played only about eight minutes of the Libby game. In the first 1:02 of the game, DeWit was whistled for two fouls. Later in the half, she picked up her third and saw just a minute, 10 seconds of playing time before halftime. DeWit took only one shot in the contest.

CFHS was within seven with four minutes to play, but Jackie Mee hit her only 3-pointer of the game to push the Logger lead to double digits.

"They crushed us on the boards," Fairbank said, as the Loggers outrebounded the Kats, 39-25.

Sam Ladenburg paced the Kats with 13 points, and Alyssa Ladenburg added eight. Sarah Marcille and Sam Ladenburg each had five rebounds. Jylisa Fields had six steals.

Mee led Libby with 15 points.

The Kats lost Fields early in the Polson game. Coming in off the bench, Fields suffered a knee injury after just five seconds of playing time. That left the Kats minus-one in their guard rotation, Fairbank said.

Complicating the scene was the fact that the Ladenburg sisters and DeWit were both in foul trouble in the first half.

Although CFHS was called for only four more fouls than Polson, the Pirates shot 18 more free throws. Polson was 16-for-19 and the Kats converted six of 11 foul shots.

Rebounding was a plus as the Kats won the board battle, 47-25. Sam Ladenburg grabbed 15 rebounds and DeWit had 11. Alyssa Ladenburg had 10 points, and Marcille had three steals.

Sarah Newton led Polson with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Amanda James added 10 points.

The Kats host Ronan on Friday and play Saturday at Whitefish, both conference games.

In an exciting junior varsity game Friday, CFHS slipped by Libby 51-48 in triple overtime. The Kats freshman team also beat the Loggers.

COLUMBIA FALLS (0-2, 1-6)

Fields 2 0-2 5, A. Ladenburg 3 2-2 8, S. Ladenburg 6 1-4 13, Hislop 0 0-1 0, DeWitt 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 3-9 26.

LIBBY (1-1, 3-3)

Hageness 1 1-2 3, Cirian 2 1-2 5, Kulbeck 2 0-0 4, Martin 1 2-2 4, Dedrick 2 1-2 5, Mee 5 4-4 15. Totals 13 9-12 36.

Columbia Falls 4 7 4 11 — 26

Libby 8 10 8 10 — 36

3-point goals: Fields; Mee. Team fouls: CF 13, Libby 13. Fouled out: DeWit.

COLUMBIA FALLS (0-3, 1-7)

A. Ladenburg 4 2-3 10, Smith 3 1-3 7, Marcille 2 0-0 4, Westgard 1 0-1 2, S. Ladenburg 1 2-3 4, Hislop 1 1-2 3, DeWit 2 0-0 4. Totals 14 6-11 34.

POLSON (1-2, 3-4)

Buckless 4 0-1 9, James 3 3-4 10, Benson 0 1-6 1, Woods 2 0-0 4, Mowbray 1 0-2 2, Pete 1 5-5 7, Newton 3 6-10 12, Havlovick 0 1-2 1. Totals 14 16-29 46.

Columbia Falls 7 4 10 13 — 34

Polson 12 11 12 11 — 46

3-point goals: Buckless, James. Team fouls: CF 22, Polson 18. Fouled out: S. Ladenburg.