Columbia Falls has lived up to its lofty expectations so far on the basketball court this season. Picked as the favorite to win the Class A boys basketball title, Columbia Falls has jumped out to a 5-0 start heading into Christmas break. Two of those victories have been over Class AA teams: Missoula Sentinel and Flathead. The Wildcats also beat defending champion Dillon 33-32 on Dec. 11.
For girls, Polson is looking tough to beat early in the season. The Lady Pirates are 4-0, including an impressive 50-45 victory over two-time defending Class AA champion Missoula Big Sky over the weekend. Preseason favorite Columbia Falls is 2-3.
After Christmas, the conference schedules will heat up. Here is a look at how the Northwestern A basketball standings stack up for both boys and girls.
Boys
Columbia Falls (5-0, 0-0 conference)
Polson (3-1, 1-0 conference)
Libby (1-3, 0-0 conference)
Whitefish (1-3, 0-1 conference)
Ronan (1-4, 0-0 conference)Girls
Polson (4-0, 1-0 conference)
Libby (2-2, 0-0 conference)
Columbia Falls (2-3, 0-0 conference)
Whitefish (0-4, 0-1 conference)
Ronan (0-5, 0-0 conference)