The Columbia Falls girls basketball team got two key conference wins last week, dropping Libby 50-22 Feb. 5 at home and then they walloped the Bulldogs Friday night in the pound 60-31.

Rylee Sweeney and Alexa Friske had 12 points apiece against the Lady Loggers. Sweeney had five blocks against the Loggers and seven rebounds.

The Kats had 37 boards in the win.

Against Whitefish Friske had 21, Peyton Ross 11, Sweeney, 10. The Kats defense shined, as they had 12 steals, four by Onnikka Lawrence and Ross and Riley Byrd had a nice night with two steals and two assists off the bench.

Sweeney had five blocks and nine rebounds. The Kats played well on the glass with 30 rebounds and they had just 12 turnovers.

Coach Jeremy Grilley said the game plan was to clog the key and take away the second-chance attempts by the Lady Bulldogs, which had led the league in rebounds.

It worked, as the Kats rebounded the ball well and got out in transition, making for some wide open looks.

“It was a good quality win,” he said. “A good team win.”

The girls are now 9-6 overall and 7-2 in conference play. They faced Polson the road Tuesday and dropped them 58-46. Lawrence had 23 in the win.

Every game is critical and they’ll look to win out. Bigfork is tops in conference and the two squads will face each other in the last game of the regular season, which could determine the conference championship.

Grilley said he’s pleased with the way the girls are coming together and the depth of the squad is a plus. The Kats played its bench the last three minutes or so of the Whitefish game and looked sharp.