Colby girls basketball
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tance themselves from the visiting Colby squad.
While the Hornets outrebounded their opponents 48 to 38 and had similar final statistics across many categories, the difference maker was Spencer’s ability to get baskets inside the three-point arc. The home team shot 47.2 percent from that range, making 17 of their 36 attempts. Colby, meanwhile, made seven of their 38 two-point field goal attempts.
The lack of offensive production hurt the visitors early. A basket courtesy of Elizabeth Perez and a free throw from Harrison Schmitt were the Hornets only points over the first eight minutes of the contest. Colby made just one of its 14 shot attempts over that stretch, allowing the Rockets to take a 12-3 lead.
The tide shifted after Brynn Polivka was able to get a floater in the lane to fall, kicking off a 7-0 run for the Hornets. Colby scored on three straight possessions, getting a putback basket from Lilly Brzezinski before Polivka hit a corner three to bring the Hornets back within two points.
Unfortunately for the Hornets, they would never be able to fully close that gap. While they shot better down the stretch of the first period, Spencer also got a boost on offense. A 14-4 run for the Rockets followed Polivka’s three, putting Colby in a double-digit deficit that they would not be able to recover from. Another three from Polivka and an Alia Hamus free throw carved the gap back down to eight with a minute left in the period, but the Hornets still trailed 29-18 by halftime.
A seven-point spurt for Spencer to open play in the second period only widened that gap. Following a transition basket from Schmitt three minutes into the half, the Hornets went eight minutes between field goals, making just two free throws over that span. A three from Angelique Hernandez finally got them back on the board, but facing a 45-27 deficit with just seven minutes left, a comeback seemed unlikely. The two teams played relatively even until the final buzzer and Spencer came out with a 55-35 victory.
Polivka and Brzezinski led the Hornets in scoring, finishing with eight points a piece. Brzezinski had a team-high nine rebounds and added three steals while Polivka brought down seven rebounds and had two steals.
Schmitt had seven points and eight rebounds, Perez led the team in assists with three and had six points and three steals and Hernandez had three points. Alexis Vanderhoof finished with the most steals for Colby with four, collecting six rebounds and two points as well. Hamus rounded out the scoring with one point.
