Colby suffers pair of losses to Indians, Dons

By Nathaniel Underwood

The Colby Hornets fell in two straight Cloverbelt conference match-ups over the past week, losing to Greenwood on the road last Tuesday before Columbus Catholic dealt them a defeat at home on Friday. The losses dropped them to 3-6 overall and 1-4 in the conference on the year.

Columbus Catholic, 53-49

For the third straight meeting, the clash between Cloverbelt-East foes went right down to the wire and, for the third straight time, the Columbus Catholic Dons found themselves coming out on top. The Hornets hosted Columbus last Friday evening and, while they certainly had put themselves into position to knock off the Dons, they found themselves on the wrong side of the 53-49 final.

In a back and forth affair that had 16 ties or lead changes, 12 of which came in the second half, neither team could gain much of an advantage over the other. The fourpoint lead the Dons held at the end of the game was their largest of the contest and the Hornets only briefly held on to their eight-point lead at the beginning of the second period.

The first half was a series of big runs by both teams. Colby was the first to strike, putting up the first seven points, getting a field goal from Lilly Brzezinski and five points courtesy of Angelique Hernandez to take an early lead. Columbus answered with 10 unanswered points of their own, briefly taking the lead before Hernandez took it right back for the Hornets.

The Colby junior connected on her next two shots, putting her team ahead 12-10 on her second three-point shot of the evening. Dakota Hoeper’s first basket of the evening stretched the run to seven straight points for the Hornets, but once again Columbus had an answer. They took those seven points right back, going on a 7-0 run of their own, holding a 17-14 advantage with five minutes left in the half.

The seesaw turned once more to the Hornets, as a free throw from Harrison Schmitt kicked off a 10-0 streak for Colby. Alexis Vanderhoof put up five points and Hoeper added four more as the Hornets once again stretched their lead out to seven points. A foul in the final seconds led to two points for the Dons before halftime, but the home team still managed to hold a 24-19 lead heading in the midway point.

Hernandez started the second period with a bang, hitting her third three of the contest to give Colby its biggest lead yet. Columbus was able to answer on their next possession, however, and they went on to outscore Colby 14-3 over the next five minutes of gametime, taking a 33-30 lead.

The contest remained a one-possession game up until its final moments as both teams laid down the pressure with their full court defenses and matched each other basket for basket. Vanderhoof and Hoeper provided much of the offense for the Hornets over the stretch, but the home team was unable to come up with another run to put them safely ahead.

With under two minutes left and the Dons holding on to a slim 49-46 lead, Hernandez connected on a clutch three to tie the game. A Columbus turnover on the next possession gave Colby a chance to take the lead, but the Hornets were not able to capitalize on the opportunity. The visitors did not miss their own chance to claim the lead for themselves, getting a basket on an inbound play with just under a minute left. Turnovers on the next two Hornet possessions sealed their fate and they were dealt their sixth loss of the season.

Hoeper led all scorers with 16 points, going 6-for-9 shooting, gathering five rebounds and three steals. Hernandez added 14 points, with all four of her field goals coming from beyond the three-point line and had five rebounds herself. Vanderhoof made five of her eight shot attempts and had 12 points, six rebounds, and six assists for the Hornets.

Brzezinski had three points and five rebounds, Brezlyn Boyer had two points and Harrison Schmitt and Lucia Perez had one point each. Schmitt led the team with seven steals.

Greenwood, 63-43

A seven-minute long scoring drought in the first half was the Hornets’ undoing as they fell to the Greenwood Indians 63-43 on the road last Tuesday evening.

Colby held a slim 7-6 lead following a transition layup from Alexis Vanderhoof put them up by one with 14 minutes left in the half. By the time Dakota Hoeper’s free throw finally gave the Hornets their eighth point in the contest, the clock had just over seven minutes left on it.

In the intervening time, the Indians had taken control of the game scoring 15 straight points and holding a 21-7 lead over the visiting Colby squad. The 13-point deficit that Hoeper’s free throw created was all the closer the Hornets got in a game that continued to go Greenwood’s way. The Indians held the advantage down low, outscoring Colby 42-16 in the paint and collecting 53 rebounds to the Hornets’ 36. Greenwood used this, plus a myriad of turnovers from the visitors, who ended the game with 32, to pull away even further. While Colby managed to put up 12 points over the final seven minutes of the half, Greenwood continued to lay on the pressure, at one point driving their lead up to 21 points.

The scoring was a bit more sporadic for the Indians in the second half, but the Hornets once again found it difficult to score over long stretches of the game.

It was four minutes into the half before Colby scored their first points and an additional three-minute scoreless stretch in the middle minutes of the period hurt the Hornets ability to come back in the game. While they played relatively evenly with the Indians through the period, they were not able to muster a similar run that allowed Greenwood to grow their double digit advantage.

Vanderhoof led the team with 17 points and six rebounds. Hoeper added six points, six rebounds and seven steals. Hernandez also had six points, Brynn Polivka and Lilly Brzezinski had five points each and Brezlyn Boyer finished with four points. Brzezinski had the most rebounds on the team with seven.

Colby will try to bounce back from the two losses later this week when they compete in a four-team tournament held in Wautoma. The two day event will take place over Wednesday, Dec. 27, and Thursday, Dec. 28, and will feature Lodi, Marinette and the hosting Wautoma Hornets.

BATTLING FOR THE REBOUND - Dakota Hoeper tries to work into position after a free throw during the Hornets’ Friday night clash with the Columbus Dons. Hoeper led Colby with 16 points.

STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD

INCREASING THE TEMPO - Alexis Vanderhoof, left, and Lucia Perez push the ball down the court in a fast-paced contest with the Dons.

STAFF PHOTOS/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD