Falcons crush Colby, Chequemegon, start 2-1
The Abbotsford Falcons started off their 2022-23 season with two commanding wins in which they completely overwhelmed their opponents and their margin of victory exceeded 30 points. They would have the tables turned in their third game, falling to a tough Athens team on the road.
Athens, 76-33
After two dominant games to start off their season, the Falcons ran into a roadblock in the Athens Bluejays. Having to take on their Marawood-North opponent on the road, Abbotsford struggled to match the height and firepower of the home team. Athens put up 55 of their 73 field goal attempts from within five feet of the basket and dominated the boards in their victory over the Falcons. Abbotsford had only 22 points in the paint compared to the Bluejays’ 52 and struggled to rebound. Athens’ 28 offensive rebounds led to 24 second chance points for the home team, compared to six such points for the visitors.
With the disadvantage down low apparent, Abbotsford put up 22 shots from beyond the arc, but only managed to convert on two of those attempts.
Briseida Escalera led the team with nine points, going 4 of 9 on her field goal attempts and also notching a teamhigh five steals. Sommer Brodhagen added eight points and Brissa Diaz had five.
Sydney Falteisek and Adriana Fuentes- Rivera both had six rebounds.
Colby,
The Abbotsford Falcons and the Colby Hornets collided for a non-conference matchup in Colby on Monday night. Both teams came into the evening with a 1-0 record, both having won their first game of the season fairly handily. Abbotsford came out of the game with their season still unblemished, serving up a dominant performance against the Hornets, defeating them 65-26.
Both teams have built themselves to thrive on quick-pace basketball, with Colby often trying to press teams on defense and the Falcons trying to push the ball up the court, turning turnovers into fast break points. The result was a game with an often furious pace, resulting in a fair number of steals and turnovers by both sides. Abbotsford seemed better equipped to take advantage of the situation, showing a bit more control on the offensive end and creating more open shots.
Much like in their first game of the season, the Falcons got off to a fast start against their crosstown rival. Abbotsford opened up a 17-1 lead, leaving a young Colby team reeling and searching for answers. The visitors wouldn’t let up the pressure, following up the opening sequence with a 17-5 run. By halftime, the lead had grown to 30 points for the Falcons.
The hosting Hornets fared slightly better in the second half, but were still outscored 24-15. The Falcons’ quartet of Briseida Escalera, Sydney Falteisek, Sommer Brodhagen and Calley Ruesch proved too much for Colby to handle, with the four juniors accounting for all 65 of Abbotsford’s points.
Brodhagen led the scoring effort for the Falcons, putting up 20 points and making eight of her nine free throw attempts while leading the team with four assists. Escalera, Falteisek and Ruesch each had 15 points. Falteisek had a double-double, bringing down 14 rebounds to add to her 15 points. She also led the team with six steals. Escalera and Ruesch both had eight rebounds.
While both teams turned the ball over more than 20 times, with Colby committing 29 turnovers and Abbotsford ending the game with 22, the Falcons made the most of their opponent’s mistakes. The visitors converted those turnovers into 30 points, compared to just 13 from the Hornets on such plays. The Falcons also shot 40 percent from the field and hit five three-point shots, while Colby shot just below 20 percent and went 0-11 from beyond the arc.
Hayden Willner and Kylie Orth scored over half of the Hornets’ 26 points, each putting up seven over the course of the game. Willner also led the team in rebounds, coming down with nine while Orth and Alexis Vanderhoof had three steals each.
Chequamegon, 68-17
The Falcons started off their season with a blowout win over Chequamegon. Abbotsford took down their Marawood-North foe with relative ease, dispatching the Screaming Eagles 68-17.
The dismantling closely echoed last year’s first matchup between the two teams, which resulted in a 70-19 victory for the Falcons. The game was never really close, with Abbotsford taking a 10-0 lead in the opening minutes and expanding it to a 35-10 advantage by halftime. Chequamegon struggled to keep up with the Falcons’ fast pace and things would get even worse for the visitors in the second half. Abbotsford would nearly double their first half point total while holding the Screaming Eagles to just seven points over the final 18 minutes.
Abbotsford was able to take advantage of turnovers, creating 19 steals and scoring 36 points off turnovers over the course of the game. In comparison, the visitors had seven steals and just three points off of turnovers. The Falcons also made things happen in transition, scoring 16 points on fast breaks.
Sydney Falteisek led the Falcons with 12 points and seven rebounds in just 16 minutes on the court. She also added two blocks and did not record a turnover in the victory.
Briseida Escalera and Sommer Brodhagen each ended the day with 11 points. Escalera co-led the team with six assists and also had four steals.
Eleven Falcons ended up in the scoring column. Adrianna Fuentes-Rivera and McKinley Klabon contributed seven points apiece, Calley Ruesch had six, Brissa Diaz and Paola Tzintzun finished with four and Neveah Treankler, Valeria Aguilera and Azalea Atkinson each had two. Diaz led the team in steals with five and Fuentes-Rivera was tied for the team lead with six assists.
The Falcons have their second nonconference game of the season next week Monday, Nov. 28. They will host Greenwood out of the Cloverbelt-East, a team that Colby had defeated earlier in the season. The game is set for 7:15 p.m.
