Hornet girls notch first Cloverbelt-East win, best Spencer
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Colby girls basketball team went 1-1 in their two conference games over the last week, defeating Spencer 49-40 last Tuesday before falling to Greenwood.
Greenwood, 44-35
Colby traveled to Greenwood to take on the Indians last Friday evening and fell 44-35 to their Cloverbelt-East opponents.
A lack of scoring in the opening minutes of the contest put the Hornets in a deficit that they could never quite recover from. The visiting Colby squad was held scoreless over the first seven-and-a-half minutes of the game, and while Greenwood did not shoot particularly well over this stretch, going 5-for-15 from the field, it was enough for the Indians to build out a 10-0 lead. Turnovers played their part, with the Hornets’ first four trips down the court ending in giving up possession without a shot and Colby committing eight turnovers over the course of their early scoring drought.
Elizabeth Perez hit a floater in the lane to get the visitors on the board, but seven straight points for the Indians gave them a sizable 17-2 advantage.
Colby answered with baskets from Perez, Angelique Hernandez and Lilly Brzezinski that briefly cut that gap back down to single digits, giving the offense a boost. However, the nine-point deficit would be all the closer the Hornets would manage to get on Friday evening. Greenwood closed out the first half with a 24-12 advantage and built out a 44-24 lead over the course of the second period.
The Hornets mounted a late rally, putting up 11 points in the final six minutes of the contest while holding the Indians scoreless, but even a pair of threes from Hernandez and another from Audrey Fleischmann were not enough to close the gap.
Hernandez finished with 13 points and seven rebounds in the loss. Perez picked up eight points, seven rebounds, and four assists and also added six steals, Alia Hamus had six points and seven rebounds and Lilly Brzezinski and Fleischmann both had four points each. Lucia Perez led the team with eight rebounds and had three steals.
Spencer, 49-40
An impressive 32-point first period carried the Hornets over Spencer last Tuesday as Colby notched their third win of the season, defeating their Cloverbelt-East counterpart 49-40 at home.
The hosting Hornets’ offense was rolling for the opening 18 minutes of the rematch between the two conference rivals, scoring the most points they have in a single period this entire
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season. Colby shot 42.3 percent from the field and made four of their 10 three-point shots in the first half while holding the Rockets to just four field goals and 26.7 percent shooting over that same span.
After Spencer opened the scoring with their sole two-point basket of the period on their first possession, Lucia Perez knotted the game with a layup and the Hornets went on to score nine unanswered points. A three from Angelique Hernandez capped off the run, putting Colby up 9-2.
While the Rockets were able to get back on the board with a pair of free throws, ending their five minute scoring drought, the home team continued to lay down the pressure. Alia Hamus instantly answered with a three on Colby’s next possession and Alexis Vanderhoof notched six straight points to put the Hornets ahead 18-4. Spencer managed to carve that lead back down to six midway through the half, but just as the Rockets looked to mounting a comeback, Hernandez slammed the door shut, instantly responding to a three from the visitors with one of her own.
The Hornets outscored their opponents 122 over the final seven minutes of the first half, Elizabeth Perez sinking a pair of field goals and Vanderhoof turning a steal into a fast break basket in the final seconds to give Colby a dominant 32-16 lead heading into the break.
Another transition basket for Vanderhoof in the early minutes of the second period gave Colby their largest lead of the game, going up 36-18, but the Rockets slowly but surely ate away at that advantage. A 12-1 run for Spencer over the next seven minutes of game time allowed them to pull back within seven points, a three from the visitors’ Montanna Kohls making it a three-score game.
Hernandez answered with a quick drive to the basket on Colby’s next time down the court and the Hornets did not allow the Rockets to get any closer over the final seven minutes of the contest. The Colby senior scored seven straight points for the Hornets and a late basket from Lilly Brzezinski put them back up by 12 with under one-and-half minutes to play, all but sealing the game for the home team.
A trio of Hornets finished in double-figures on Tuesday night. Hernandez led the way with a 15-point performance, hitting three shots from beyond the arc and going 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Vanderhoof added another 14 points for Colby and Brzezinski picked up a double-double, scoring 10 points and bringing down 13 rebounds. Elizabeth Perez finished with five points and led the Hornets with six assists and four steals. Hamus had three points and Lucia Perez came away with two.
