Tough go at Western A for girls hoops

The Columbia Falls girls basketball team came up just short at the Western A divisional tourney last week in Hamilton.

They lost to Frenchtown in the opener, 57-44 Thursday, then beat Hamilton Friday in the consolation bracket 42-27, but were squeezed out by Whitefish Saturday morning, 48-45.

Against Frenchtown the Wildkats overcame a 20-14 second quarter deficit to lead 36-34 late in the third quarter before the Broncs rattled off 17 of the next 18 points. 

Onnikka Lawrence had 20 in the loss to lead the Kats.

Against Hamilton, the game was knotted up at 24 before the Kats pulled away in the fourth for the victory.

The Whitefish game was a see-saw affair. Whitefish took an early lead and were up 29-21 at the break.

But the Kats battled back and took a 7-point lead with 5 minutes left in the game, but the Kats could only muster 4 points in the quarter, while the Bulldogs had 11. The Kats had three key turnovers that led to Whitefish points.

Still, Onnikka Lawrence got a good look at the basket for the last second shot, but her try was just off a bit and Whitefish was able to preserve the 3-point victory. Lawrence, a junior, led the team with 15, Rylee Sweeney had 13.

Coach Jeremy Grilley said he was proud of the way the girls played defense in all the games.

“Our defense the whole tourney was awesome,” he said.

But the offense just wasn’t efficient enough to pull out two wins and a state berth.

The future looks bright. The Kats return the core of the team next season, as they lose just Alanis Petersen and Maddie Barker to graduation. 

The way the season ended should be a good motivator in the offseason and in summer tourneys.

“Next year will be the most experienced and talented we’ve had,” Grilley said. They just need to put in some work in the offseason. This is an athletic squad and most of the players are multi-sport athletes.

The girls finished the season at 10-11.

C Falls     9    14    13    8    -    44 

Frenchtown    15    11    10    21    -    57 

COLUMBIA FALLS — Alexa Friske 0 0-0 0, Onnika Lawrence 9 2-3 20, Peyton Ross 0 4-8 4, Alanis Petersen 0 0-0 0, Rylee Sweeney 2 1-3 5, Ava Scholz 1 0-0 2, Lana Byers 5 0-0 13. Totals 17 7-14 44.

Hamilton    6    11    5    5    -    27 

C-Falls    6    11    6    19    -    42 

HAMILTON — Anna Lewis 0 3-4 3, Meryn Leonardi 2 0-4 5, Nellie Dickemore 0 2-2 2, Isa Neal 0 0-0 0, Tayleigh Bakken 0 0-0 0, Elise Carroll 0 0-0 0, Loretta Hanson 0 1-2 1, Kasidee McKern 1 0-0 2, Ashlynn McKern 0 4-4 4, Taryn Hochhalter 4 2-2 10, Ari Coy 0 0-0 0, Kaylee Cielinski 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 12-18 27. 

COLUMBIA FALLS — Alexa Friske 1 2-4 4, Riley Byrd 0 0-0 0, Onnikka Lawrence 2 0-4 4, Peyton Ross 5 3-12 13, Evie Dorr 0 0-0 0, Alanis Peterson 0 0-0 0, Rylee Sweeney 4 3-4 11, Ava Scholz 2 0-0 5, Katie Bulawski 0 0-0 0, Kylor Gietzen 0 0-0 0, Lana Byers 2 0-0 5. Totals 16 8-24 42. 

3-point goals — Hamilton 1 (Leonardi), Columbia Falls 2 (Scholz, Byers). Fouls — Hamilton 18, Columbia Falls 15. Fouled out — A McKern 

Whitefish    17    10    10    11    -    48 

C-Falls    12    7    22    4    -    45

WHITEFISH — Reese Hudson 4 0-2 10, Sammie Shors 1 0-0 2, Avery Orme 7 2-3 19, Allie Shors 3 5-8 11, Stella Frisbee 3 0-0 6, Clair Easterly 0 0-0 0, Blake Ruta 0 0-0 0, Vivian Trieweiler-Schmidt 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 7-13 48. 

COLUMBIA FALLS — Onnika Lawrence 4 5-7 15, Peyton Ross 0 0-0 0, Riley Sweeney 4 5-7 13, Alexa Friske 2 2-2 6, Alanis Petersen 3 1-4 8, Riley Byrd 0 0-0 0, Ava Scholz 0 0-0 0, Lana Byers 1 0-0 3. Totals 14 13-21 45. 

3-point goals — Whitefish 5 (Orme 3, Hudson 2), Columbia Falls 4 (Lawrence, Peterson, Byers). Fouls — Whitefish 18, Columbia Falls 16.