Columbus, Greenwood deal Hornets two losses
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Colby girls basketball team dropped to 2-7 this season after suffering defeats at the hands of two conference foes, Columbus Catholic and Greenwood, over the past week.
Columbus Catholic, 37-24
It was a defensive battle in the first half between the Colby Hornets and the hosting Columbus Catholic squad, but a resurgence in shooting in the second period by the Dons propelled them to a 37-24 victory over the visiting Hornets.
The two Cloverbelt-East teams fought to an 8-8 gridlock at halftime, the lowest combined score at the halfway point of any game Colby has played so far this season. Points were few and far between for the opening 18 minutes of play, with scoring opportunities coming at a premium.
The Hornets led for a vast majority of the first period, but were not able to make any significant headway against Columbus’ defense to secure a larger lead.
Angelique Hernandez’s three two minutes into the game gave the Hornets a 3-0 advantage, but they would score just five more points over the next 16 minutes of play. Luckily, their defense was up to the task, giving the Dons little to work with.
A three from Brynn Polivka doubled the Hornets total four minutes later and Columbus finally got on the board on their next possession. The Dons scored the next eight points of the game, taking the lead with 40 seconds left in the half. Another basket from Hernandez knotted things up on the Hornets final possession, breaking an 11 minute scoring drought for Colby.
Columbus broke that tie with a threepoint shot on their first possession of the second period. It was a sign of things to come, as the Dons’ offense found much more success the rest of the way, putting up 29 points over the final 18 minutes.
Harrison Schmitt answered with a jumper on Colby’s first time down the court, but the Dons went on a 22-4 run following the basket. Schmitt scored both of the Hornets’ field goals over that stretch, but outside the senior’s makes, there was no response to the Columbus scoring spree.
Colby outscored the Dons 10-4 over the final six minutes of the game but still fell by double-digits to their conference rivals.
While both teams shot similarly from two point range, the Dons made two more three point shots while Colby made only two of their 22 attempts from beyond the arc.
Schmitt put up a game-high 10 points and collected five rebounds for the Hornets. Hernandez ended the contest with seven points, five rebounds and led the team with four assists, Polivka had three points, seven rebounds, and two steals and Alexis Vanderhoof and Elizabeth Perez had two points each. Vanderhoof led all players with eight rebounds, recorded three assists, and collected two steals.
Greenwood, 63-33
The Hornets faced off against another Cloverbelt-East foe earlier in the week, hosting Greenwood last Tuesday evening. The Indians came out strong, and while Colby battled back, a run at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second by the visitors allowed them to take home the win.
Greenwood’s dominance in the paint gave them a huge advantage in Tuesday night’s contest. The Indians outrebounded Colby 52-29, turning 22 offensive rebounds into 15 second chance points compared to just three second chance points for the Hornets. Greenwood also earned 22 trips to the free throw line, making 12 of them, while Colby went 3-for-7 from the charity stripe.
The Indians jumped out to a 10-0 over the first four minutes of the contest. On the possession following the three that brought Greenwood to that mark, Angelique Hernandez got the Hornets on the board with her own three-pointer from the corner. The basket was the start of a streak by the senior that got the home team back into the game.
Hernandez went on to score 11 straight points for Colby over the next two minutes. Another three, two field goals and a free throw brought the Hornets back within a possession at 13-11.
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The impressive run forced a timeout from Greenwood, a move that stemmed the home team’s momentum. The Indians returned to the court and scored twice to extend their lead back out to six points.
A three from Lucia Perez and a free throw from Lilly Brzezinski once again cut the deficit down to two points, but the Hornets never full closed that gap. Following Brzezinski’s free throw, Colby was held scoreless for six minutes. This allowed Greenwood to put up 13 straight points and take a 30-15 advantage late in the first period. Brynn Polivka hit a floater in the lane to break the scoreless streak, but the game had fully shifted back to the Indians.
The visitors took a 36-19 lead into halftime and then went on to outscore Colby 19-7 over the first nine minutes of the second period. Scoring slowed for both teams in the final quarter of the game, something that did not help the trailing Hornets and Greenwood was able to cruise to the 63-33 victory.
While she did not score after her initial spurt to open the game, Hernandez still led the team with 11 points. She also came up with five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Perez finished with six points, Polivka and Elizabeth Perez both had four points, and Alia Hamus ended the game with three. Harrison Schmitt and Alexis Vanderhoof both had two points each, with Vanderhoof also collecting four steals and two assists and Brzezinski had one point and a team-high ten rebounds.
The Hornets will try to get back in the win column when they travel to Stanley-Boyd on Friday, Jan. 3. The Orioles are currently 4-6, though they are 3-2 over their last four games. The game will start at 7:15 p.m.
