Colby tops Abby in Border Brawl

Colby on a five game win streak

A little more than two miles is all that separates Colby from Abbotsford. Despite the cities proximity to one another, there is very little sporting history between the Hornets and Falcons.

There’s not much distance between the Hornets or Falcons on the basketball court either, even with Colby boasting a winning record, and Abbotsford riding a three game losing skid after falling 45-43 in Colby on Monday afternoon.

The meeting has no bearing on conference standings, with Colby playing in the Eastern Cloverbelt, and the Falcons members of the Marawood - North. What it does have an effect on is pride, bragging rights and momentum.

Neither team had played in nearly a week, and with 2021 on the horizon, each team was eager to enter the new year with some mojo in their pockets.

Colby came into the cross-town clash with a distinct height advantage that only grew with the absence of Falcons’ forward Alea Graff. Graff is Abby’s tallest player, leading rebounder and second leading scorer.

With Graff out, Abby head coach Ally Meserole knew she would need to get creative with her line-up and with her game plan. That meant attacking the Hornets with a relentless defense, moving the ball around, and slowing the game down.

“I think we did a good job getting in Colby’s head, and they weren’t quite sure what to do with us,” Meserole said. “I don’t think they expected us to come out as well as we did.”

If you asked Colby head coach Terry Schmitt about that, he’d agree.

“I know we got the win, but it feels like we took a couple steps back today,” Schmitt said in his post-game interview. “I credit Abbotsford - they came out and they punched us in the mouth. They just punched and punched all game long.”

The Falcons definitely made a fight of it on Monday, and for much of the game, their speed and tenacity was able to get the better of Colby, who came out decidedly flat after their holiday layover.

“I didn’t think we were going to have that problem,” Schmitt said about his player’s early lethargy. “We had practice yesterday and everything seemed fine, but I could see right from the beginning there was just a lack of energy.”

The Falcons came out the stronger team in the first half, taking an early 5-2 lead with 15:33 remaining. The Hornets took a brief 7-6 lead a few minutes later, but the Falcons went on an 8-2 run to give them a 13-8 lead with just over nine to play in the first frame.

That low-scoring number is not a typo. Just days after dropping 79 points on Greenwood, and 88 points on Athens the game before that, Colby’s offense struggled to find a rhythm, missing numerous lay-ups that had dropped in the previous two games.

Abby on the other hand, was patient, finding gaps inside or kicking out to open shooters on the perimeter, where sharpshooting from Down Town by Abby senior Catie Clement kept the Falcons upset bid alive.

The Hornets continued to struggle to find a spark on offense as shots that should have been routine simply refused to go in, and Colby found itself down 18-13 with less than five minutes to play in the first half.

With Colby looking tired and listless, Schmitt turned to his bench to give his team an injection of energy.

“Our bench stepped up, they brought the energy,” Schmitt said. “If it wasn’t for them coming out the score might have been different. I don’t know how to explain it, but they just seemed to bring the energy back in.”

Colby fought, clawed and scrapped for baskets, and towards the end of the first half the Hornets began cut into Abby’s lead. An 8-2 run that was keyed by a three from Trista Meyer and a basket by Lexi Underwood gave the home team a 21-20 lead going into halftime, but the lowscoring game played into Abby’s hands.

“That was our goal,” Meserole explained. “We said we wanted to keep it low-scoring, like 20 to 30 at the half. We’re not looking for an 80 point game. We want to waste the clock, which you hate to do in basketball, but that was the best strategy for us.”

The Falcons came out of the gate hot, sending a clear message to Colby - they were not going away.

Clement sparked the Falcons’ fire with five points in the first thirty seconds to push Abby’s lead to 28-21 with 14:22 to play.

Clement would lead all players with 21 points, while senior guard Mya Ruesch added another nine, with seven of those coming in the second stanza.

But outside of those two, no other Falcon scored more than five points. Freshman Sydney Faltieisek was held under her ten point season average with five points. Sommer Brodhagen, Briseida Escalera, Brissa Diaz and Bridgett Pogodzinski all had just two points each.

Worse, in a game decided by just two points, the Falcons could not make a free throw if their lives depended on it, finishing a meager four of 12, with three of those makes coming in the final second.

“If we had made some more of our free throws, which is a recurring problem for us, and if we could have had better shot selection, the outcome might have been different,” Meserole said. “I think there were five possessions that could have been game changes where we didn’t come away with points or a rebound.”

Missed opportunities would haunt the Falcons at the tail end of the second half. After going down a 34-28 with under nine to play, the Hornets began to make their move, and slowly chipped at the deficit.

Lexi Underwood, Emma Peavy and Olivia Vollrath all pulled down loose balls and Underwood was a force underneath, getting to the line multiple times. Underwood led Colby with 12 points, but was far from the only Hornet scoring.

Colby had seven different players score in the second half to Abby’s four, and even with Clement canning multiple tri- ples, the Hornets began to turn the tide, making it 40-40 with under three minutes in regulation.

The Falcons inexperience began to show, and with the game up for grabs, made mistakes in the back court and half court - turning the ball over or settling for deep shots.

“Towards the end when we were up six points, we were still looking for those three pointers when we had open looks in the lane that we could have easily taken a lay-up or drawn a foul. We are inexperienced, so we are still breaking a lot of bad habits.”

The Hornets closed out the game with a 13-5 run, with Abby’s last three points coming from Clement’s free throws with one second left in regulation.

Abby attempted the steal, but could not get it, and Colby won 45-43 to extend their overall record to 5-1, and win streak to five as Abby moves to 2-6 on the season.

Vollrath added seven points in the victory and Brooke Suckow collected six. Peavey had five, Brett Schmitt and Kya Viegut added four apiece, Meyer had three and Brooklyn Filtzkowski and Hayden Willner rounded things out with two apiece.

Meserole and the Falcons were understandably upset with the loss, but took a great deal of encouragement.

“It’s nice to see some of the younger girls out on the court, and see them figure out their roles on the team. I think what’s nice is we have a lot of players that are very different. Depending on the game situation certain girls get played in different situations.”

For Schmitt, the yo-yo type game was a lesson to his players to always be ready to play any team, regardless of records. He praised his players, but also gave them a harsh critque.

“The one thing you can’t teach a team is not to quit. Those girls that were out didn’t quit. They kept going with the press, they figured out what they were trying to do,” Schmitt said. “But we got to bring the energy level back up, otherwise it’s going to be a long season.”

Colby cuts down Greenwood

If you’re looking for the definition of team basketball, you don’t have to look much further than the Colby girls this year.

The Hornets put on an absolute clinic on how to play as one during their Dec. 22 game against the Greenwood Indians. That wasn’t all Colby displayed - Colby had nine different players score, and controlled the game from start to finish, as they dropped their Eastern Cloverbelt rivals by thirty points.

Greenwood (2-2; 2-2 ECC) came in off the back of two strong wins, topping Spencer by two on Dec. 14, and then pummeling the Owen-Withee Blackhawks 56-40 on Dec. 17.

But the Indians would be no match for a Hornets squad that has won three straight, and they swarmed their vistors from the opening whistle. Colby’s inside game was unstoppable, as the Hornets made a living underneath, choosing to use their height to good effect.

The Hornets attempted just five three pointers, but converted on 50 percent of their two point field goals, finishing 30 of 60 on those attempts.

Colby pulled down over 50 rebounds, with 24 of them coming on the offensive glass, and nine different Hornets scored in the first half. Brooklyn Filtzkowski had her breakout game of the season, scoring 11 points, all in the first half.

Emma Peavey, Lexi Underwood and more got in on the action as the Hornets built a 44-31 lead at the break. Their offense would continue to click into the second half, with Underwood and Brooke Suckow guiding Colby to 35 points in the final frame.

Colby’s defense was the real star in the second half, with the Hornets limiting Greenwood to 18 points. Celine Wuethrich led the Indians with 13 points, and Kia Abel notched 11, but Greenwood struggled to score in last stanza as Colby held the Indians in check, with no player from Greenwood scoring more than five points in the second half.

Meanwhile, Colby continued to attack the interior, and out-scored their opponents 35-18 in the second half to win 79-49, and extend their winning streak to four.

Colby had four players finish in double digits, with Underwood enjoying her best game of the season, notching a doubledouble as she scored 19 points and pulled down 12 rebounds - both season highs.

Peavey dropped 14 points and eight boards on the Indians, and Filtzkowski finished with a career high of 11 points while Suckow provided 10 points in the winning effort.

Trista Meyer had a solid night, scoring eight points. Hayden Willner continues to be a strong option off the bench for first year coach Terry Schmitt, and the speedy sophomore added six points.

Kya Viegut scored five points. Olivia Vollrath added four points and had eight rebounds. Brett Schmitt tallied two points as Colby distributed the ball for 13 assists and pilfered Greenwood’s pocket 18 times.

It’s early sledding in the first month of the 2020-21 season, but the rust has been shaken off, and the Hornets are looking to regain their lost Cloverbelt crown.

GREAT AGAINST GREAT -Colby’s Lexi Underwood attempts to dribble past Abby’s Catie Clement. The two players were each team’s leading scorers in Monday’s border brawl. Underwood led the Hornets with 12, but Clement had a game high of 21 points as Abby nearly pulled off the upset.

HUGGING THE BASELINE -Olivia Vollrath drives the ball, skirting the baseline as Abbotsford’s Sommer Brodhagen attempts to force her out of bounds with her on-ball defense. Vollrath’s six points were instrumental in securing a two point Colby victory over the Falcons.

TAKING IT TO THE TIN -Abbotsford’s Adriana Fuentes goes up for two during the first half as Colby’s Kya Viegut attempts to block the shot. The Falcons were without leading rebounder Alea Graff, but the two teams traded shots and the lead all game long.STAFF PHOTOS/ROSS PATTERMANN