Page 56 - Flathead Beacon // 3.4.15

56 | MARCH 4, 2015
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SPORTS
FLATHEADBEACON.COM
Grandma would have been proud. Rattled in both games, plagued by poor shooting and
faced with frantic finishes, the Columbia Falls boys and girls basketball teams needed gritty spirit.
Both games, they found it.
In front of a raucous crowd colored in blue and white — a well-known collec- tion of faithful fans that travels far and wide to cheer on its teams — Columbia Falls triumphed at the Northwestern A Divisional basketball tournaments in Whitefish last weekend.
The Wildcats captured their seventh divisional title in a row, defeating Polson 62-48 and advancing to the Class A state tournament in Bozeman, where the boys will try to defend their title, March 12-14.
When it was the girls turn, the Wild- kats repeated as divisional champs, holding off Frenchtown 53-43 and storming into this weekend’s state tour- nament in Hamilton with title aspira- tions.
Four years after taking the helm of both boys and girls teams, and a year after becoming the first Class A head coach to win two divisional titles in the same night, Cary Finberg did it again. The 19th-year head coach improved his career record with the boys teams to 295-137. The girls are 67-21 under Fin- berg.
As the latest trophies were hoisted and the community celebration ensued on Saturday night, one familiar face was missing. But her presence was certainly
felt.Norma J. Finberg passed away Feb. 23. She was 84. She was the mother of longtime head coach, Cary, and assistant coach Cathy. She was the grandmother of Ciera, a senior guard, and Cydney, a sophomore guard. As the Hungry Horse News aptly described her, she was the matriarch of Columbia Falls basketball, a passionate, devoted fan who embodied the community support of its student athletes.
“It’s been tough, but we’re playing for her and we’re trying to do the best we can. And we did,” Ciera said after Sat- urday’s game. “I hope we’re making her proud.”
Wearing shirts that read, “Do it For Grams,” Columbia Falls took the court with pressure and expectations after an- other remarkable regular season.
The girls steamrolled opponents this winter, averaging 64 points per game and limiting opposing teams to 32 ppg. At 19-1 overall, their only short- coming was against one of the top Class AA teams, Glacier, on Jan. 15, when the Wolfpack edged the Wildkats 46-40.
Frenchtown tested the strength of the winning streak in a rematch of last year’s divisional championship, provid- ing Columbia Falls a wake-up call. The Kats appeared rattled most of the first half and went into halftime with a slim 20-17 lead.
But the girls regrouped and regained
their poise, thanks in large part to the sharp-shooting of Cydney Finberg, who drained a pair of three-pointers early in the third quarter and sparked the of- fense.
Cydney finished with nine points, Ciera led the team with 12 and senior forward Winter Kemppainen added 10 points.
“We haven’t been challenged a ton this year. Even though it was a little un- settling, I think it was good for us to see that,” Ciera said. “It was good practice and experience for what we’re going to see down the road.”
Columbia Falls, with the No. 1 seed from the Northwest, opens the state tournament at 2 p.m., Thursday against the winner of Dillon (13-7) and Butte Central (16-5), which squared off in a challenge game on Monday after the Beacon went to print.
Frenchtown (12-7) opens up tourna-
ment action against Hamilton (15-6) at 6:30 p.m., Thursday. In other opening round games, Billings Central (10-11) takes on the winner of Livingston (6-15) and Lewistown (7-13), which squared off in a challenge game Monday. Havre (16- 4) plays Hardin (12-9) in the opening round of state at 8 p.m., Thursday.
“Mistakes and tentativeness are doubled or tripled in tournaments as op- posed to the regular season. When you get to tournament basketball, anything happens sometimes. But we found a way to withstand it and get a win,” Cary Fin- berg said.
“I’m very proud of our effort. We needed a game like this. Going into the state tournament, that’s exactly what we needed.”
Finberg said he didn’t think the emotions of his mother’s recent passing affected the girls’ performance.
“If anything that should motivate
us more. She wasn’t out there missing shots,” Finberg said.
Last season the Wildkats went 22-2 and brought home a third-place trophy from state, the program’s first hardware since 1988.
Havre defeated Hamilton 51-43 to win last year’s title.
With a strong group of experienced players back, Columbia Falls will no doubt contend for a title, which would be the team’s first since 1983, when the Wildkats won their one and only cham- pionship. The last time the team played in the championship game was in 1986, when Billings Central won 51-35.
“They’re a hard club to match up with. They’ve got great depth and they’ve got great height and great length. And they are well coached,” said French- town coach Jim Tolman.
“They’re a legitimate contender right now.”
The Columbia Falls boys have tar- gets on their backs as the reigning state champions. No doubt they have lived up to the expectations this winter.
Finberg has molded another well- rounded roster of savvy role players that are 17-3 overall. Their only losses came against rival Dillon, 64-44 in the third game of the season, against Class AA
ABOVE: The Columbia Falls boys defeated Polson 62-48 to win their seventh consecutive Northwestern A Divisional title.
LEFT: Peyton Kehr shoots over Lady Bronc defenders. The Columbia Falls girls defeated Frenchtown 53-43 to win their second consecutive Northwestern A Divisional title.
PHOTOS BY GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON