Glacier hands C-Falls 1st loss

Glacier sophomore Katie Thomas hit a three-pointer with 4.8 seconds left to seal a 53-51 non-conference girls basketball victory for the Wolfpack on Thursday night over top-ranked Columbia Falls at Glacier High School.

It was Thomas’ interception of an errant Wildkat pass that setup Glacier’s final possession. After swinging the ball around the Columbia Falls’ zone defense, trying to work the ball inside, Thomas let a shot fly from the right wing of the three-point line and it found the bottom of the net as Wolfpack fans rejoiced.

“When (Hannah) passed it to me on the kick we didn’t have much time left so I had to shoot it,” Thomas said. “That’s my job to spot up and shoot.”

It was a job well done as her clutch basket handed Columbia Falls its first loss of the season.

“Very disappointing for the girls,” said Columbia Falls head coach Cary Finberg.

“Defensively we didn’t buckle down there at the last possession when we needed to, but this is the type of game our girls needed. Glacier is a quality team and they made the plays at the end and we didn’t.”

Glacier came out shooting in the first period of play and opened up a 20-10 lead, including three Hailee Bennett baskets from behind the arc.

The Wolfpack (5-2) went cold in the second quarter scoring just nine points while Columbia Falls cut the lead to six. It was 29-23 at the break.

The Wildkats (7-1) went on a 9-2 run to start the third quarter with seven of those nine coming from the hot hand of senior Winter Kemppainen, who ended up with a game-high 17 points.

When Glacier senior Cassi Hashley committed her fourth foul with just 4 minutes to play in third, she was forced to sit on the bench to avoid fouling out for good.

“She had to play tentatively on the defense end of the court,” Glacier head coach Kris Salonen said. “The refs were calling a lot of fouls; they weren’t just talking to them out there.”

This allowed the Wildkats to attack the paint in the fourth. Columbia Falls senior forward Haley Belgrade added eight fourth-quarter points to her 13-point total, including an elusive post move to regain the lead with just over three minutes left in the final period before Glacier made its final push.

Glacier was lead by Hasley’s 15 points as well as 13 from Bennett, who was 3-4 from the three-point line.

“I thought we came together really well as a team,” Thomas said. “Our coach always challenges us in the second half to play even better than we did in the first and I think we did tonight.”

The Wildkats won’t have much time to dwell on the tough loss as they will look to defend their home court Saturday against visiting Whitefish at 5 p.m.

Glacier will hope to ride this momentum into Monday’s home matchup against Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Columbia Falls 10 13 15 13 — 51

Glacier 20 9 13 11 — 53

COLUMBIA FALLS — Clara Finberg 4-7 0-1 8, Cydney Finberg 0-5 0-1 0, Ellie Johnson 2-4 0-0 5, Winter Kemppainen 7-10 0-2 17, Haley Belgrade 6-11 1-2 13, Andrea Getts 1-5 0-0 2, Klare Burlage 3-5 0-0 6, Miranda Livingston 0-0 0-0 0, Alyson Gimbel 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-47 1-6 51.

GLACIER — Hannah Atlee 0-3 3-6 3, Katie Wiley 0-5 0-0 0, Cassi Hashley 6-12 3-6 15, Hailee Bennett 5-12 0-0 13, Taylor Loomis 3-9 1-1 7, Taylor Salonen 2-5 0-0 4, Katie Thomas 2-4 2-2 8, Tessa Krueger 1-5 0-0 2, Ali Williams 0-4 1-2 1. Totals 19-59 10-17 53.

3-point goals — Columbia Falls 4-11 (Johnson 1-2, Kemppainen 3-4), Glacier 5-13 (Bennett 3-4, Thomas 2-3). Rebounds — Columbia Falls 29 (Belgrade 9), Glacier 39 (Atlee 11). Total Fouls — Columbia Falls 13, Glacier 13. Fouled out — none. Technical foul — none. Steals — Columbia Falls 6 (Kemppainen 3), Glacier 15 (Atlee 3, Loomis 3). Blocks — Columbia Falls 2 (Cy. Finberg, Belgrade) Glacier 1 (Bennett). Turnovers — Columbia Falls 18, Glacier 16.