C-Falls boys, girls in Northwestern A divisional finals

WHITEFISH — It was slow going for 24 minutes until Columbia Falls used a 26-point fourth quarter to pull away from Frenchtown for a 52-40 Northwestern A divisional boys semifinal basketball victory on Friday afternoon at Whitefish High School.

Top-ranked Columbia Falls scored as many points in the final frame as it did in the first three periods.

The Wildcats trailed 15-13 at the half and held a slim 26-25 lead after three quarters.

Jayce Fagerland led Columbia Falls in scoring with 16 points. He tallied eight points in the fourth quarter, including two 3s.

Ty Morgan scored eight points in the fourth quarter to finish with 14.

Austin Means had 16 points for the Broncs. Bridger Truett had 10.

Columbia faces Polson for the divisional title tonight at 6.

Frenchtown plays at 3 p.m. today and will face the 9 a.m. winner between Libby and Whitefish.

Columbia Falls 7 6 13 26 — 52

Frenchtown 7 8 10 15 — 40

COLUMBIA FALLS — Trevor Houston 3 0-1 6, Glenn Morden 1 0-1 2, Grant Stenger 3 0-3 6, Jayce Fagerland 6 0-1 16, Ty Morgan 2 10-12 14, Logan Williams 1 0-0 2, Grant Wallace 3 0-1 6. Totals: 19 10-19 52.

FRENCHTOWN — Jacob Price 3 0-2 9, Chris Delaney 0 2-2 2, Bridger Truett 5 0-0 10, Austin Means 7 2-3 16, Levi Lind 0 1-2 1, Andrew King 1 0-2 2. Totals: 16 5-11 40.

Polson 44, Whitefish 40

WHITEFISH — Polson took an early lead and held on for a tight win over Whitefish in semifinal play.

Polson led 24-14 at the half, but Whitefish outscored the Pirates by six points in the final half to make it close.

Tanner Wilson led Polson’s offense with 16 points. Matthew Rensvold was next with 15.

AJ Wetsch was the top scorer for Whitefish with 13 points. Luke May had 12.

Whitefish plays Libby today at 9 a.m. in a loser-out contest.

Polson 13 11 10 10 — 44

Whitefish 8 6 12 14 — 40

POLSON — Wyatt Ducharme 1 0-0 2, Chris McDonald 1 0-0 2, Payton Lefthand 0 1-2 1, Derek Peel 2 0-0 5, Tanner Wilson 5 6-8 16, Andrew Curley 1 0-0 2, Joe Gallatin 0 1-2 1, Matthew Rensvold 7 1-2 15. Totals: 17 9-14 44.

WHITEFISH — Derek Kastella 2 0-1 4, Brian FauntLeRoy 0 1-2 1, AJ Wetsch 4 5-6 13, Cody Olson 2 0-0 4, Luke May 5 0-0 12, Jack Streibich 1 0-0 2, Chaffin Ross 2 0-0 4. Totals: 16 6-9 40.

Girls

Columbia Falls 75, Whitefish 30

WHITEFISH — Columbia Falls hit for 18 points in the first, second and fourth quarters in rolling past Whitefish in semifinal play.

Top-ranked Columbia Falls held a commanding 36-13 lead at the half.

Eleven players scored for the Wildcats. Leading the way was Ciera Finberg with 15 points. Kiara Burlage and Peyton Kehr both had 12.

Dani Douglas topped Whitefish in scoring with 11 points.

Columbia Falls had just six turnovers to Whitefish’s 28.

Columbia Falls outrebounded the Bulldogs 49-37.

Kehr had nine rebounds. Burlage and Winter Kemppainen both had six.

Cailyn Ross had seven rebounds for Whitefish.

Columbia Falls enjoyed a big advantage at the free-throw line, sinking 23 of 32 shots.

Whitefish had just 11 trips to the line and made five.

Columbia Falls faces Frenchtown in the title game tonight at 7:30.

Whitefish plays a consolation test at 4:30 p.m. The Bulldogs will face the 10:30 a.m. winner between Polson and Libby.

The top two teams advance to the state tournament.

Whitefish 4 9 13 4 — 30

Columbia Falls 18 18 21 18 — 75

WHITEFISH — Dani Douglas 4 0-0 11, Coral Schulz 0 0-1 0, Katie Fyall 1 0-0 2, Ellie DeWan 1 0-0 2, Mariah Drown 0 1-4 1, Haley Nicholson 2 2-2 8, Makenna Benbrook 0 1-2 1, Cailyn Ross 2 1-2 5. Totals: 10-43 5-11 30.

COLUMBIA FALLS — Summer Burlage 1 0-2 2, Ciera Finberg 3 8-8 15, Katie Price 0 0-1 0, Ciera Finberg 3 8-8 15, Sydney Grilley 0 2-2 2, Cydney Finberg 2 2-2 7, Ellie Johnson 1 1-1 3, Peyton Kehr 4 4-4 12, Winter Kemppainen 3 0-2 6, Miranda Livingston 3 0-0 6, Kiara Burlage 4 4-6 12, Allyson Gimble 3 0-0 6, Sydney Hovde 1 2-4 4. Totals: 25-76 23-32 75.

Frenchtown 30, Libby 20

WHITEFISH — Libby held a 6-5 lead after eight minutes of action, but Frenchtown gradually pulled away for a 10-point victory in the other semifinal game.

Frenchtown went on top 16-15 at the half and took a 26-18 advantage into the fourth quarter.

Lacey Hochhalter topped Frenchtown in scoring with 10 points.

Hailley Moe led Libby with seven.

Libby 6 9 3 2 — 20

Frenchtown 5 11 10 4 — 30

LIBBY — Hailey Craig 2 0-0 5, Shyla Stevenson 1 0-0 2, Hailley Moe 3 1-4 7, Shannon Remy 0 1-2 1, Devon Gallagher 1 3-4 5. Totals: 7 5-10 20.

FRENCHTOWN — Emma Pyron 0 2-2 2, Haley Cyr 3 1-2 7, Laci Willett 2 1-6 5, Alli Moe 1 0-0 2, Brooke Yarnall 0 0-1 0, Lacey Hochhalter 4 1-3 10, Megan Delaney 0 0-1 0, Alivia Williams 2 0-2 4. Totals: 12 5-17 30.