Colby beats Spencer, gets elusive second win

The Colby Hornet girls basketball team hosted the Spencer Rockets last Thursday evening, the two teams clashing in a Cloverbelt-East matchup with hopes of putting a stop to multigame losing streaks. The Hornets emerged victorious, putting up a season high 77 points en route to the 77-48 win over the Rockets.

Both teams entered Thursday night’s game looking to get back in the win column. Spencer had lost their prior four games, their last win coming on December 6 at Owen-Withee. Meanwhile, Colby was in the midst of an even longer drought. After winning their first game of the season against Greenwood, the Hornets had yet to notch another victory this season, coming into the game off of their 11th straight loss. With both teams hungry to get back to winning ways heading into the season’s second half, the table was set for what looked to be on paper a competitive Cloverbelt conference game.

Both teams started the game by effectively attacking their opponent’s zone defenses, moving the ball and finding open shots. Spencer held the early advantage, with freshman guard Autumn Davis hitting two threes and scoring the Rockets first eight points of the game. Despite Davis’s hot start, the Hornets kept the game close and took their first lead of the game when sophomore Savana Thomsen’s layup made the game 9-8.

The visitors retook the lead when Davis hit her third shot from beyond the arc to give the Rockets a 14-11 advantage, but things started to quickly unravel for Spencer. For over eight minutes of game time, the Rockets would fail to record a field goal, their only point scored over this stretch coming from a made free throw by Davis to make the score 15-11. Following the free throw, the Hornets used Spencer’s lack of offense to retake the lead, senior Hayden Willner banking in a free throw to complete a threepoint play to put her team ahead. The basket came in the midst of a 15-0 run for Colby, a sequence that set the tone for the rest of the game. While Spencer would add a few points in the final minutes of the half, the Hornets had opened their lead out to 13 by the time the two teams were headed to the locker rooms. Davis had 16 of her team’s 20 first half points, but Colby’s more balanced attack, led by 11 points from Willner, seemed to be the more effective of the two offenses.

The opening minutes of the second period saw the two teams trading baskets evenly, with sophomore Hallie Meyer’s deep two-point shot cutting Colby’s lead to the smallest it would be at 39-27 with 14:30 to play. Colby answered right back on the next possession, Angelique Hernandez hitting her second three of the game to shut the door on the Rockets. Hernandez’s basket marked the beginning of a 16-4 run for the Hornets, a streak that put the game out of reach for the visiting Rockets.

Colby cruised the rest of the way, dominating on the blocks and hitting just enough outside shots to keep Spencer’s defense honest. While Rockets managed to hit ten three-point shots over the course of the game, they couldn’t find enough consistency from elsewhere on the floor to keep pace, only scoring seven two-point field goals total. The result saw Colby coming out with a 77-48 victory, giving them their second conference win and keeping Spencer with two themselves.

The Hornets got contributions from up and down their lineup in their season- high scoring performance. Nine athletes scored for Colby, six of which had eight or more points. Willner led the team with 15, followed by Hernandez with 12, Thomsen with 10, Kylie Orth and Hannah Trush with nine apiece and Dakota Hoeper with eight. Also scoring Thursday evening were Alexis Vanderhoof, who contributed six points, and Harrison Schmitt and Trisha Vanderhoof, both of whom had four points.

With the victory, the Hornets are likely hoping for a similar second half to last year. Much like this season, the 2021-22 team struggled early on before starting to come away with victories as the season pushed into January. Their next challenge will be in the form of the Columbus Dons, who will be coming into town this Friday, Jan. 13. The Hornets will be looking to avenge a 51-47 loss to their Cloverbelt foes earlier in the season, a game that Colby found themselves leading in until the final moments. The rematch is scheduled to start at 7:15 p.m.