Broncs pull away from Wildkats
The Daily Inter Lake
COLUMBIA FALLS - The Columbia Falls High School girls basketball team led after three quarters Saturday night, but it couldn't score down the stretch and lost to visiting Frenchtown, 51-43.
The Wildkats led 20-18 at halftime and took a 34-32 lead when senior guard Amber Lampman drained a 3-pointer from the top of the arc as the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter. But the Lady Broncs outscored Columbia Falls 19-9 in the decisive final frame and pulled away with an 11-0 game-ending run.
"It's a situation where you want someone to step up," said Columbia Falls coach Kris Salonen. "We just could not shoot the ball tonight. We have got to get some offense going. It's just the bottom line - offensively, you've got to score."
Southwestern A's Frenchtown improved to 2-2 after winning just three games last season.
It was the second straight loss for Columbia Falls (2-2), which begins Northwestern A play Friday at Bigfork.
"I guess it's a good thing that we had a bad game now instead of at the end of
the year because it gives us an opportunity to fix things," Salonen said.
Junior guard Noelle Lebsock led the Lady Broncs with 21 points, but Frenchtown's posts gave Columbia Falls fits in the paint. Six-foot-one sophomore Laura Geis and 5-foot-8 sophomore Jennifer Brown combined for 15 points against the smaller, guard-oriented Wildkats.
Brown gave Frenchtown the lead for good when she scored on a layup with 1 minute, 58 seconds left in the contest. She was fouled on the play and calmly sunk her free-throw attempt, giving the Lady Broncs a 45-43 advantage. Brown extended Frenchtown's lead to four when she drained two free throws 40 seconds later.
"She's just an animal," said first-year Frenchtown coach Patrick Hiller of Brown.
Junior forward Beth Karper led Columbia Falls with 10 points and five rebounds.
The Wildkats started four guards while Frenchtown started three posts. Salonen and Hiller both thought Columbia Falls' outstanding team speed and press defense would pose more problems for Frenchtown than it did.
"I was really scared of (the Wildkats) because I know they're so well coached," Hiller said.
Hiller said the Lady Broncs faired well against the press because they were patient and didn't make the "silly pass" when harassed by Wildkat defenders.
Salonen said she expected the Wildkats to score plenty of points against Frenchtown's young defense and cause trouble for the Lady Broncs with their press. Instead, the Wildkats committed 29 fouls, many while reaching in and trying to make steals.
"They outplayed us tonight," Salonen said. "They just flat outplayed us. They were the team that deserved the win."
Lampman and senior guard Jessica Boyer scored six points apiece for Columbia Falls, but Lampman made the team's only trey.
"We could not get the outside shots," Salonen said. "They had a great extended zone."
While the loss surprised and disappointed their coach, the Wildkats committed just 11 turnovers and Salonen was pleased with their intensity coming out of halftime.
"It's never for lack of effort," Salonen said. "It's just 15- to 18-year-olds making mistakes and frustrating the heck out of their coach."
Frenchtown 7 11 14 19 - 51
Columbia Falls 9 11 14 9 - 43
FRENCHTOWN (2-2) - Ashley Belker 0 0-0 0, Noelle Lebsock 8 4-9 21, Courtney Hedrick 2 3-6 7, Lacey Lovell 1 5-6 7, Laura Geis 3 2-4 8, Jenna Volinkaty 0 0-3 0, Caitlin Amundsen 0 1-2 1, Jennifer Brown 2 3-3 7, Shelby Russ 0 0-2 0, Courtney Hochhalter 0 0-2 0. Totals 16 18-37 51.
COLUMBIA FALLS (2-2) - Jylisa Fields 0 0-0 0, Callie Spencer 1 2-2 4, Amber Lampman 1 3-6 6, Jessica Boyer 3 0-4 6, Mary Nolan 0 5-6 5, Alyssa Ladenburg 2 0-0 4, Beth Karper 4 2-6 10, Sarah Marcille 1 3-4 5, Sam Ladenburg 0 1-2 1, Colyne Hislop 0 1-2 1, Kelsey DeWitt 0 1-2 1. Totals 12 18-36.
3-point goals - FT 1 (Lebsock 1), CF 1 (Lampman 1). Rebounds - FT NA, CF 27 (Spencer 3, Lampman 4, A. Ladenburg 4, Karper 5, Marcille 4, S. Ladenburg 4, Hislop 1, DeWitt 2). Assists - FT NA, CF 4 (Nolan 2, DeWitt 1, Ladenburg 1). Steals - FT NA, CF 7 (Lampman 1, Boyer 3, Nolan 1, Karper 1, S. Ladenburg 1). Turnovers - FT NA, CF 11. Total fouls - FT 22, CF 29. Fouled out - FT 1 (Brown), CF 1 (Karper).