BUTTE — The Western A divisional basketball championship games for boys and girls took place in Butte on Saturday. The Columbia Falls Wildkats had already beaten Ronan twice this year and were looking to win again when it mattered the most at the Maroon Activities Center in the girls championships. Meanwhile, the Dillon Beavers boys were taking on the Polson Pirates at the Butte Civic Center. The Pirates' only loss of the year came to Dillon earlier on in the season.
Columbia Falls Wildkats 59, Ronan Maidens 54
The Maidens started this game on a tear, jumping out to a 7-0 early lead over Columbia Falls. The Wildkats would go on a 13-3 run to end the quarter, though, and take the lead. Columbia Falls would ultimately keep its perfect record intact with a hard-fought 59-54 win.
It was all Columbia Falls in the second quarter, and the Wildkats would go ahead at halftime, 31-20. However, the Maidens were not going to go down without a fight, outscoring the Wildkats 18-11 in third to cut their deficit to 42-38.
The Wildkats held on for dear life in the fourth and slipped past the Maidens, winning 59-54 and taking home the Western A girls title.
Columbia Falls junior Maddie Robison had a game-high 21 points. LaKia Hill (13 points) and Maddie Schweikert (10) both finished in double figures, as well. Schweikert finished added 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double.
Areanna Burke and Jaylea Lunceford both scored 11 points to lead Ronan in scoring.
Dillon Beavers 42, Polson Pirates 32
This one was a low-scoring affair for a large part of the game. At the half, Dillon had a 16-14 lead. In the second-half, it was all Beavers as they outscored the Pirates 26-18 to cruise to a 42-32 victory and win the Western A boys title.
Junior Jonathan Kirkley led the Beavers with a team-high 15 points.
Pirates junior Colton Graham also finished with a team-high 15 points.
