The Columbia Falls girls basketball team went 0-2 at the state A tournament in Billings last week, but there were still some memorable performances from the squad.

The Kats opened the tourney against top seed (and eventual champion) Billings Central. The Lady Rams dropped the Wildkats by 35, 70-35. The Kats had a tough time getting the offense going as Central jumped out to a 20-2 lead and never looked back.

Emalee Alton led the team with eight points in the loss Thursday.

In the consolation bracket the Kats faced a familiar foe in Frenchtown. Like the meeting in the divisional tourney, the Kats played the Broncs tight and were up by eight at the break. Senior Kierra Kemppainen capped off her high school career with an exclamation point, putting up 29 points after she hit a whopping nine treys, a school record and a Class A record.

According to mhsa.org, only five girls have knocked down more threes in a game. Four of them are from are from Class C schools and the other is from Class B Boulder. Emma Timm of Laurel had eight in one game two seasons ago.  

Cydney Finberg hit seven in one game for the Wildkats in 2017.

Coach Jeremy Grilley was pleased with the way the team played. 

He said he was impressed with how composed the girls were against the Rams, which were far bigger than the Kats. The Kats had just 13 turnovers, but they were outrebounded by 33.

“They had 30 more shots than us,” he said.

Against Frenchtown, the Kats had seven treys in the first half, but in the second half, they didn’t rebound as well and Frenchtown was able to take the lead, winning 67-59.

“We were unable to hold them off at the end,” Grilley said. “The girls played really hard.”

He said this year’s seniors laid a good foundation for the program and he’s encouraged for the future.

“The girls should be proud of how the season ended,” he said.

Of the 15 girls that went to state, nine were freshman and sophomores.

The goal is to being home some hardware in the next two or three years, Grilley said. The work starts in a few weeks, when open gyms start up.

The team returns some talented players in Onnikka Lawrence, Rylee Sweeney, Alanis Peterson and Alexa Friske to name a few.

The girls went 12-12 on the year.

BC Rams    20    20    19    11    -    70 

C-Falls    2    14    10    9    -    35 

BILLINGS CENTRAL — Annika Stergar 5-10 0-0 12, Kam Reinker 7-14 2-4 17, Coral Old Bull 6-11 0-0 12, Lyssa Peterson 4-15 0-0 8, Ryan Hadley 4-11 0-0 8, Amya Lorash 5-7 1-1 11, Emerson Dull 0-1 0-0 0, Gracie Loveridge 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 32-73 3-5 70. 

COLUMBIA FALLS — Onnika Lawrence 2-9 0-0 5, Taryn Borgen 2-15 4-4 8, Kierra Kemppainen 2-4 0-0 6, Emalee Alton 3-5 2-2 8, Maddy Barker 0-3 0-0 0, Rylee Sweeney 0-3 2-2 2, Alexa Friske 0-2 0-0 0, Addy Bowler 0-0 0-0 0, Alanis Peterson 1-2 3-4 6, Ava Scholz 0-0 0-0 0, Riley Bird 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 10-43 11-12 35. 

3-point goals — Central 3-19 (Stergar 2-5, Reinker 1-4, Old Bull 0-1, Hadley 0-3, Peterson 0-4, Lorash 0-1, Dul 0-1), C-Falls 4-15 (Kemppainen 2-2, Peterson 1-1, Lawrence 1-1, Borgen 0-9, Friske 0-2). Rebounds — Central 53 (Reinker 14), C-Falls 20 (Alton 4, Lawrence 4). Fouls — Central 10, C-Falls 8. Turnovers — BC Rams 6, C-Falls 13.

C-Falls    9    23    12    15    -    59 

Frenchtown    14    10    20    23    -    67 

COLUMBIA FALLS — Kierra Kemppainen 10-15 9-11 29, Taryn Borgen 4-9 1-1 11, Maddy Barker 1-3 0-0 2, Emalee Alton 2-8 1-2 5, Onnika Lawrence 2-9 1-4 5, Rylee Sweeney 2-3 0-0 4, Alexa Friske 0-0 0-0 0, Addy Bowler 1-2 0-0 3, Alanis Peterson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-49 3-7 59. 

FRENCHTOWN — Mason Quinn 5-11 14-16 26, Maya Skinner 4-7 0-1 9, Heather Haskins 5-18 0-0 12, Ryan Lucier 6-8 0-0 12, Bailey Hansen 0-2 0-0 0, Blake Hardy 3-8 0-0 6, Jezzy Palmer 1-4 0-3 2. Totals 24-55 14-19 67. 

3-point goals — Columbia Falls 12-20 (Kemppainen 9-11, Borgen 2-4, Bowler 1-2, Lawrence 0-2, Alton 0-1), Frenchtown 5-19 (Quinn 2-4, Haskins 2-9, Skinner 1-1, Hansen 0-2, Palmer 0-3). Rebounds — Columbia Falls 29 (Alton 9), Frenchtown 33 (Quinn 12). Fouls — Columbia Falls 16, Frenchtown 9. Turnovers — Columbia Falls 19, Frenchtown 9.