Girls split as well, lose to Dillon, beat B.C.

The Columbia Falls girls basketball team split at the Northwest-Southwest Tip-Off tourney in Frenchtown over the weekend.

They lost to Dillon 63-23 Friday in the opener, but beat Butte Central handily 51-23 Saturday.

In between games, the Kats changed up their defense from man with a press to a 1-2-2 zone and it worked, coach Jeremy Grilley said.

They also had 16 turnovers at the half against Dillon, which didn’t help. Peyton Ross and Rylee Sweeney had 8 points apiece against Dillon. The Kats also shot 1 for 16 by the half.

Against Central the Kats limited turnovers and caused a bunch against the Maroons, more than 40.

The good D led to easy buckets and that’s the way the Kats want to play the remainder of the season, Grilley noted.

“I want our offense to come from our defense,” he said.

The girls were led by Onnikka Lawrence, with 10.

The tourney is always a good test and none of the games are conference.

The Kats travel to Browning Friday and Saturday for the Holiday classic, where they face Miles City Friday and Hardin Saturday.

Hardin will also be a good test, as they press and run the floor.

“We just have to be ready to handle their high aggressive defense and take care of the ball,” Grilley said.