A year ago the Columbia Falls Wildckats soared into the Western A Divisional with a 16-2 record and high hopes. They left 16-4, but with a handful of juniors ready to make amends.

A year later the Wildkats head back to divisionals with a 16-0 mark, a year wiser and stronger.

“Well, we talked about it at the start of the year, and that was about it,” Columbia Falls girls’ coach Cary Finberg said of his team. “Obviously the kids that are back are going to remember. But it’s something that happens at tournament time. Fortunately it hasn’t happened a lot to us.

“It’s a reminder that if you don’t play well, things like that can happen.”

Columbia Falls plays the second game today at 1 p.m., against Frenchtown at Butte Central’s Maroon Activity Center. It’s a rematch of a game played Jan. 26 in Frenchtown; the Kats won that one 43-34. Only a couple of their games have been closer.

“We knew they were a big, physical team that defended well,” Finberg said. “They played exactly the way we thought they would. They made it difficult for us.”

The Wildkats like to run, though they have capable half-court scoring in Hannah Schweikert and Maddie Robison.

“If it’s a half-court game, it’s advantage them,” Finberg said of the Broncs. “If it’s a full-court, get up and down game it’s advantage us.”

Frenchtown is 7-9. Nobody besides Columbia Falls has fewer than four losses: Whitefish and Butte Central are both 11-4.

“I kind of figured with four starters back and the young kids coming in, we’d have a pretty good season,” Finberg said. “I think more than that we’ve gotten better as the year’s gone on, and that’s what we wanted to do.”

Dillon and Polson could be destined for a rematch in the boys’ divisional. The Pirates’ lone loss came 54-46 at Dillon (14-0) on Jan. 26, and they are on opposite sides of the bracket this week.

A list of the top scorers and rebounders in the boys’ and girls’ can be found on Page B2.

On top of tonight’s crosstown girls’ game, the Flathead girls have a home game with Missoula Hellgate Saturday. The same day the Flathead boys travel to Missoula Big Sky. They’re both makeup games, and are the regular-season finales for both teams.

Play-in games will be the following week – most likely on Tuesday, to give us much time as possible between those games and the start of the State AA tournaments in Great Falls March 10-13.

Alex Germer had a game for the ages last Thursday, scoring 51 points in Missoula Sentinels’ 86-62 win at Missoula Big Sky.

The 6-foot-8 Montana State signee hit 13 3-pointers, setting the Class AA mark and coming one shy of the all-class record of 14 set last year by Manhattan Christian’s Sam Leep.

Germer was 16 for 22 from the field, 13 of 18 from 3-point range. He hit buzzer-beating threes to end the first, second and third quarters and sat out most of the fourth.

It’s divisional time in wrestling, as well, though Class AA is not having one in favor of a seeding conference today, ahead of next week’s State AA meet at Flathead High School.

There will be a one-day Northwest A divisional in Libby Saturday. On Friday and Saturday Bigfork will compete in the Western B/C in Cut Bank.

Speaking of Class A, this week’s coaches poll had not one single change from last week.