Kats battle back to take third at state

The Columbia Falls girls basketball team brought home a trophy from the state Class A tournament in Great Falls last week. It just wasn’t the one they were hoping for.

The Wildkats took third, beating Laurel 54-52 in a thriller consolation game in overtime on March 8 at Four Seasons Arena.

The Kats were led by Haley Belgarde with 20 points in the victory. Winter Kemppainen had 12.

The Kats opened the tournament by drubbing Belgrade 70-29, and it looked like they might cruise through the competition.

But then they faced Hamilton on Friday night, and in the first half everything that could go wrong did. The Kats’ shooting went frigid, they turned the ball over way too much, and coach Cary Finberg was called for a technical foul.

The Kats were down 19-4 after the first quarter and 28-15 at the half. But the girls showed what got them to the tournament in the first place. They tightened down their defense and played with heart, cutting the Hamilton lead to one point twice near the end.

With 52 seconds left, Hamilton held just a 39-38 advantage after two key three-pointers from Ciera Finberg dropped in and Haley Belgarde hit some tough shots at the post.

But Hamilton gambled on the closing possessions and fouled the Kats. It worked — the Kats missed crucial free throws down the stretch that would have tied the game or put them up. The Lady Broncs held on for the victory, 44-39.

Ciera Finberg led the team with 13 points. Belgarde had 10. The Kats shot just 35 percent from the field and hit just half of their free throws.

The Kats beat Frenchtown in loser-out action Saturday morning 60-44 to get to the consolation championship

They ended their season at 22-2 overall. The future looks very bright for the program, however. The team loses just two seniors, Belgarde and Andrea Getts.

“I was proud of our effort,” Finberg said. “(Against Hamilton) we picked a bad time to have a bad offensive game.”

Finberg noted it was the girls’ worst offensive game of the entire season.

This year’s team often had two freshmen, Cydney Finberg and Kiara Burlage, on the floor, and guard Ellie Johnson is just a sophomore.

This was the first time a team placed at state since 1988, when the girls took third.

“That’s a huge accomplishment for this group,” Finberg said.

Havre beat Hamilton in the final, 52-43.

C Falls 10 11 9 16 8 — 54

Laurel 10 7 13 16 6 — 52

Columbia Falls – Summer Burlage 1-6 0-0 3, Ciera Finberg 2-9 0-0 6, Cydney Finberg 3-3 2-3 9, Ellie Johnson 2-6 0-0 4, Andrea Getts 0-4 0-0 0, Winter Kemppainen 4-12 4-6 12, Miranda Livingston 0-1 0-0 0, Kiara Burlage 0-1 0-0 0, Haley Belgarde 6-10 8-10 20. Totals: 18-52 14-19.

Laurel – Lexi Lewis 0-2 2-4 2, Allie McGrath 5-20 2-4 13, Taylor Ludwig 1-2 2-2 4, Dalayna Christenson 1-1 0-0 2, Hailey Spitzer 2-2 0-0 5, Paige Hodges 3-7 0-0 9, Abbie Lohof 5-8 6-6 17. Totals: 17-42 12-16.

C Falls 13 15 14 18 — 60

Frenchtown 16 8 11 9 — 44

Columbia Falls — Summer Burlage 1-4 5-10 8, Ciera Finberg 5-9 5-7 18, Cydney Finberg 2-7 1-2 6, Ellie Johnson 0-3 4-6 4, Andrea Getts 3-4 0-0 6, Winter Kemppainen 2-4 0-0 4, Miranda Livingston 0-1 0-0 0, Kiara Burlage 0-2 0-0 0, Allyson 0-1 0-0 0, Haley Belgarde 5-6 4-7 14. Totals: 18-41 19-32 60.

Frenchtown — Haley Cyr 0-0 0-2 0, Vanessa Stavish 6-13 7-8 21, Kayla Blood 3-10 2-2 9, Brooke Yarnall 1-4 4-6 7, Krista Hebnes 0-2 0-0 0, Keegan Wickman 1-4 0-1 2, Lacey Hochhalter 1-8 2-4 4, Laci Willett 0-0 1-2 1, Lexi Statelen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 12-42 16-25 44.

C Falls 4 11 8 16 — 39

Hamilton 19 9 7 9 — 44

Columbia Falls – Summer Burlage 0-2 3-4 3, Ciera Finberg 4-10 2-3 13, Cydney Finberg 3-8 3-5 9, Andrea Getts 0-3 0-0 0, Winter Kemppainen 1-6 0-4 2, Miranda Livingston 0-2 0-0 0, Kiara Burlage 1-1 0-0 2, Haley Belgarde 5-8 0-0 10. Totals: 14-40 8-16.

Hamilton – McKayl Rothie 0-2 0-0 0, Taylor Goligoski 4-6 5-10 14, Ellie Hurlbert 2-2 0-0 4, Jaylee Albert 5-9 7-8 21, Brianna Huggans 0-2 1-4 1, Sami Kratofil 0-4 4-5 4. Totals: 11-25 17-27.

Belgrade 6 3 4 16 — 29

C Falls 21 16 20 13 — 70

Belgrade: Kindall Bethke 0-4 0-0 0, Sadie Reddick 1-3 0-0 2, Alexis Clingingsmmith 6-14 0-0 15, Taylor Salsbury 0-1 0-0 0, Skyla Neubauer 0-2 0-0 0, Madison Page 0-4 0-0 0, Erin Singleton 2-10 0-0 6, Tanna Holliday 1-5 1-2 3, Shaylee Ragar 1-6 0-0 3, Jamie Woolman 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 11-52 1-2.

Columbia Falls: Summer Burlage 3-4 0-0 6, Ciera Finberg 3-10 1-1 7, Sydney Grilley 3-3 0-0 7, Cydney Finberg 5-8 2-3 12, Ellie Johnson 0-3 2-2 2, Andrea Getts 3-5 0-0 6, Winter Kemppainen 3-4 0-0 6, Miranda Livingston 2-2 0-0 4, Kiara Burlage 1-1 0-0 2, Allyson Gimbel 2-2 0-0 4, Haley Belgarde 6-10 2-2 14, Peyton Kehr 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 31-53 5-5.