Hornets reach regional semifinal match
According to seedings, Colby should not have even been in Westfield on Friday. But seeds be darned.
The Hornets busted a few brackets on Wednesday night when they upset the Princeton/Green Lake Tigersharks in a WIAA D-4 regional quarterfinal match.
Colby came in as the ninth seed, but playing on the road did not seem to faze them, and after being in tons of close games all season long, their experience and growth came to the fore.
“We were confident going into it. We were confident that we could win and we really pushed ourselves and we were really happy with the outcome,” said senior guard Kya Viegut.
The Tigersharks may have been awarded the eighth seed, and a home game, but their 6-18 record coming in did not deter the Hornets, and the score was deadlocked at 21-21 at the break.
After that first half, the two teams went on a roll in the second, and it was offense that dominated the proceedings.
Princeton/Green Lakes’ Gracey Bartol scored a team high 18 points for the Tigersharks, and Jenna Kelma and Ava Kuklinski added 14 and 11 points.
Each team went on runs, but could never really shake the other. That’s when Colby drew on their experience from all their close games this season.
“Since it was so close we really pushed ourselves because we really wanted to move on to the next level,” Viegut said.
Hayden Willner provided the punch on offense, giving the Hornets 18 points. Angelique Hernandez scored 11 points, and Viegut and Kylie Orth added nine and seven points.
“Kylie Orth really stepped up and started getting stronger in her game as the season went on,” Schmitt said. “Alexis Vanderhoof and Angelique Hernandez really gave us strong minutes at the end of the season.”
Colby weathered Tigershark runs, and got contributions from multiple sources. That team element pulled the Hornets over the finish line, allowing Colby to earn one more game after they outscored the Tigersharks 42-37 in the final frame for a 63-58 victory.
Helping the Hornets secure the W was six points from Trisha Vanderhoof, five from Alexis Vanderhoof and four and three points from Savana Thomsen and Brett Schmitt.
It was a decidedly different outcome for Colby two days later, when the Hornets took the long ride down to Westfield to face the third ranked Pioneers, who boasted a 23-1 record coming into Friday’s regional semifinal.
The Hornets fell behind early, trailing the Pioneers 38-22 after one half. Carly Drew hung a game high 27 points on Colby, and even with Kya Viegut and Angelique Hernandez both in double digits with 12 and 13 points, Colby could not keep up with last year’s state qualifiers.
“Against Westfield we played very physical with them. They made some runs on us, and we had a hard time getting back into the game,” Schmitt said. “We kept it tight the first half, and they just pulled away from us in the second.”
The loss puts Colby’s record at 8-16, but the Hornets return the nucleus of their varsity squad, and that fact is something coach Schmitt is very happy for.
“I’m very excited about next year. We have a lot of people returning with varsity experience, but definitely need to work on as a team just getting better all around,” Schmitt said.
For Viegut, a senior, stepping away from basketball will be hard, but she’ll always remember her time as a Hornet.
“I’ve been playing basketball since sixth grade,” Viegut said. “So it was really hard for me to retire that jersey.”
ICE IN HER VEINS -Kya Viegut capped her career with back to back double digit efforts.Westfield,
