Hornets GB win home opener, drop next two

The Colby Hornets girls basketball team opened up their 2021-22 campaign with a decisive 64-51 victory over Greenwood in their season and home opener on Friday Nov. 19.

Unfortunately, the Hornets followed that win up with losses to Abbotsford on Nov. 22, and the Columbus Catholic Dons on Tuesday, Nov. 23.

64-51

Colby head coach Terry Schmitt learned something about his players on Thursday, Nov. 19, and it’s they can figure things out on the fly.

Schmitt was impressed with his team’s basketball IQ, especially after he implemented several new concepts mid-game against Greenwood on Thursday, Nov. 19.

“The girls are very basketball wise. We threw something at them tonight that they never even practiced, which was a 1-3-1 defense,” Schmitt said. “We made that switch at halftime, and I think they handled it very well.”

Colby is still a work in progress though, and the Hornets began down 12-7 with 13:10 left in the first frame. The Hornets struggled with fouls.

“I think in the beginning there were a lot of jitters,” Schmitt said. “Brett got into foul trouble right away, but she controlled herself in the second half.”

The Eastern Cloverbelt rivals traded buckets from much of the first half, and it was 21-21 with 6:58 left before the break. Schmitt dug into his bench, and he was pleased how players stepped up.

“A lot of the new girls, they played awesome,” Schmitt said. “They just hustled through the whole game, and they’re not scared of the moment, which is why I was confident putting them out there.”

The Hornets went into the locker room up 29-26, and after getting those early season jitters out of the way, held Greenwood to 25 points in the second half.

Colby’s offense caught fire in the second half, scoring 35 points. Brett Schmitt led the way, splashing two triples for a game high 13 points. Hayden Willner had twelve points, Alexis Vanderhoof tallied eleven and Orth recorded ten.

Savana Thomsen, Harrison Schmitt and Kya Viegut all had five points apiece. Mercedes Sarkkinen and Angelique Hernandez rounded things out with two and one point respectively.

“It feels pretty nice that we got the first W of the season in our first game,” senior guard Mercedes Sarkkinen said. “I think we were all a little bit nervous, but once we started to get going, we finally cracked open the game.”

After the game, Schmitt was honest in his assessment, praising his players, but pointing out the work to be done.

“We got to work on some of our fast breaks, and lighten up our passes a little bit. We’re going to make some mistakes along the way, but they’re smart basketball players, and I’m so excited to see where they’ll be at the end of the year.”

Abbotsford, 52-32

If Colby’s season opener showed the Hornets potential, their non-conference game with Abbotsford showed some areas that need improvement.

Colby’s cold shooting from the floor saw them trail 26-15 at the break. Things did not improve in the second half. The Falcons allowed just one Hornet to score double digits. Colby also failed to get the stops they needed, and Abby out-scored Colby 26-17 in the second half, handing Colby its first loss of the season.

Kya Viegut scored a team high eleven points, and Brett Schmitt added eight, but no other Hornet scored more than three points. Kylie Orth, Angelique Hernandez and Hayden Willner had three apiece. Harrison Schmitt and Alexis Vanderhoof finished with two apiece.

Columbus, 44-35

Double digit performances by Kya Viegut and Brett Schmitt were not enough to overcome a sluggish second half as the Hornets fell to Columbus Catholic in Marshfield on Tuesday, Nov. 23.

The two Eastern Cloverbelt rivals were neck and neck through the first half, with the Hornets trailing by just one possession at the break, 25-22. The Hornets turned in a strong effort on defense, holding the Dons to 19 points in the second half, but Colby could only muster 13 points in the final frame, dropping their first conference game of the season 44-35.

Kya Viegut and Brett Schmitt finished with 11 and 10 points, but no other Hornet managed more than five points.

The Dons were led by Hailey Zimmerman, who tied Viegut with 11 points. The Dons had two other players score at least nine points in Colby’s loss.

Harrison Schmitt had five points for Colby, Hayden Willner added four points. Olivia Krause and Kylie Orth rounded things out with three and two points.

The Hornets will have a chance to get back to .500 later this week, when they host the Owen-Withee Blackhawks at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 2.