Wildkats give Salonen first victory in Whitefish

WHITEFISH - It was one of those slow motion, memory album-type moments.

With less than 30 seconds to go in Tuesday's Northwestern A girls basketball matchup, Columbia Falls senior Dani Herman drove across the lane and as the Whitefish defense zeroed in on her, the 5-foot-10 post had the presence of mind to look around.

Under the basket, in perfect position, stood teammate Callie Spencer.

"We have this connection," Herman said afterward of herself and Spencer.

"Dani was heading for it and she saw me," Spencer said. "We were connected."

"I knew (Spencer) was coming," Herman agreed.

"I just turned around and I knew she'd be there. I didn't even think about it. It just came out of my hands right to her. Easy layup."

That 'easy layup' was the winning basket in a 63-62 victory for the Wildkats. It marked a season sweep for the Wildkats and was also the first time Columbia Falls (3-4, 8-7) has won in Whitefish during coach Kris Salonen's four-year tenure.

"I've never won here. It's about time," the coach smiled.

"Both teams played very hard and very sportsmanlike," Salonen added. "These kids just play so hard and both teams want to win so bad."

Spencer admitted she thought at first Herman would take the shot herself.

"I was more going up for the rebound," she said.

"But I was ready for (the pass). Dani throws a lot of nice passes. It was perfect and (the shot) felt good all the way up."

That shot was sweet redemption for the turnover Spencer had committed only moments before. That was the same turnover that led to a four-point Whitefish lead with 1:12 left in the game.

Standing on the sideline after Spencer's layup, Salonen thought to herself "'Callie just redeemed herself.'

"They all redeemed themselves after all the turnovers," the coach added.

That had been the last thing Salonen told the Wildkats in the timeout she called with 40 seconds left.

She wanted the girls to run time off the clock and she reminded them she still had one timeout left.

"Don't turn it over. We'll see what we get," she told them.

What they got was the final lead change in a contest that featured 13 of them, as well as four ties.

Jenna Toole led the Wildkats with 17 points, followed by Kim Pearce with 15 and Bekah Stoltz with 10.

Tessa Kalfell scored 25 points for the Bulldogs and Tracy Schwada added 11.

WILDKATS 63, BULLDOGS 62

Columbia Falls 20 16 11 16 - 63

Whitefish 18 16 9 19 - 62

Columbia Falls - Callie Spencer 2 3-5 7, Jessica Boyer 1 0-0 2, Jenna Toole 7 3-6 17, Kim Pearce 6 2-2 15, Beth Karper 2 0-0 4, Bekah Stoltz 3 2-4 10, Dani Herman 2 4-6 8. Totals 23 14-23 63.

Whitefish - Kirsten Blackburn 3 0-0 8, Ashley Ferda 2 3-4 9, Tracy Schwada 4 3-4 11, Tessa Kalfell 10 3-4 25. Erin Greiner 3 1-3 7, Katie Cain 0 2-2 2. Totals 22 12-21 62.

3-point goals: Columbia Falls 3 (Pearce 1, Stoltz 2), Whitefish 6 (Kalfell 2, Blackburn 2, Ferda 2). Total fouls: Columbia Falls 17, Whitefish 16. Fouled out: Toole.