Colby girls upset Wildcats but fall to McDonell
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Colby girls basketball team played in a pair of postseason games last week after receiving a 10-seed in the WIAA Division 4 playoff bracket. The Hornets bounced the seventh-seeded Edgar Wildcats from the playoffs with a 47-37 upset win but were knocked out themselves in the second round by the second-seeded McDonell Central Macks on Friday night. Colby will finish their 2024-25 season with a 5-18 overall record. They took eighth in the Cloverbelt-East after going 1-13 in conference play.
McDonell Central, 67-42
The Hornets were able to hang with the second-seeded McDonell Central Macks for the opening few minutes of the first period but a pivotal run to close out the half for the home team allowed them to end Colby’s playoff journey in the second round. The hosting Macks outscored Colby 19-4 over the last eight minutes of the first period, giving them the cushion they would need to eventually defeat the Hornets 67-42.
McDonell scored on four of their first five possessions to take an early 9-0 lead, but the visitors initially battled back. A layup by Alexis Vanderhoof got the Hornets on the board and while the Macks answered immediately with a three-pointer on the opposite end, Colby was about to go on their own scoring streak.
Driving scores from Elizabeth Perez and Angelique Hernandez were followed by a pair of threes courtesy of Hernandez and Brynn Polivka. The 10-2 run had the Hornets back within two points and even when the Macks were finally able to answer, Polvika came up with a basket in transition to keep things close.
Just as the Hornets seemed to find a flow on offense, McDonell stepped up their game. They went 7-for-9 from the field over the next few minutes while forcing the Hornets into five turnovers and allowing them to go just 1-for-8 shooting. A basket from Lilly Brzezinski was the Hornets only form of offense over this stretch and the Macks were quickly able to turn a close game into a 19point deficit for the Hornets at halftime.
The two squads battled back and forth in the second half, but the Hornets were unable to make any headway into the significant McDonell lead. A three from Polivka followed by a layup by Brzezinski had the lead down to 18 points at 43-25, but that would be all the closer Colby would be able to get. A late 9-0 run sealed the deal for the Macks and closed the door on the Hornets’ postseason run.
McDonell’s ability to stretch the court served as a difference maker, both during the pivotal run in the first half and over the course of the entire game. The Macks scored 24 points in transition compared to just four points in transition for the Hornets. They also outrebounded Colby 42-33.
Polivka ended the game with a team-high 14 points. She also had two assists and three steals in the loss. Hernandez added another 13 points, connecting on a trio of three-point shots and recording six deflections on defense.
Perez finished with seven points, four rebounds, and two assists and Brzezinski had 10 rebounds, four points and two blocks. Vanderhoof rounded out the scoring with four points, but also led the Hornets in assists and steals, finishing with three and six respectively.
Edgar, 47-37
A consequential run for the Hornets at the end of the first half was the difference maker in their first round playoff upset last Tuesday as the 10th-seeded Colby squad defeated the seventh seeded Edgar Wildcats 47-37.
The visiting Hornets put up the final 14 points of the opening period all while holding their opponent scoreless over the last eight minutes of the half.
A basket from Lilly Brzezinski broke a 14-14 tie and started the Hornets on their game-changing run. The senior then added another make in the lane on Colby’s next possession to put the visitors up by four. Threes from Angelique Hernandez and Brynn Polivka kept the ball rolling in the Hornets’ favor and a transition basket courtesy of Alexis Vanderhoof expanded Colby’s lead further.
The Wildcats had no answers over this stretch, going 0-for-15 from the field in the final eight minutes of the half. The Hornets also forced their opponents into five turnovers during Edgar’s scoring drought. Hernandez capped off the half’s scoring with a pair of free throws and Colby held a 28-14 lead at halftime.
The home team finally got back on the board with a three-pointer to start scoring in the second period, but Hernandez answered with her own make from beyond the arc a few possessions later. A 9-2 run for Wildcats had Colby’s lead back down to single digits but another clutch three from Hernandez kept the home team at bay.
See HORNET PLAYOFFS/ Page 20 Hornet playoffs
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Edgar would get back within eight points four more times down the stretch, but each time Colby was able to put a stop to any potential rally from the Wildcats. Four straight points from Brzezinski got the Hornets out of trouble the next time their lead dropped below 10 points and they continued to match Edgar blow for blow as the clock wound down. Free throws from Elizabeth Perez and Hernandez and a basket for Vanderhoof in the last three minutes gave Colby just enough offense to never have their lead truly challenged.
Colby ended the game shooting slightly better from the field, hitting 30.0 percent of their shots compared to Edgar’s 23.0 percent shooting percentage. The Wildcats ended the game with eight more offensive rebounds but were not able to capitalize on those efforts, turning their 19 offensive boards into just nine second chance points.
Hernandez put together a double-double performance for the Hornets, scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to lead the team in both categories. The senior made five of her 11 three point attempts and also recorded five steals and two blocks.
Brzezinski nearly had Colby’s second double-double of the day, finishing with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting and eight rebounds. She also had a team-high four blocks and dealt out four assists.
Vanderhoof added four assists to lead the Hornets in the category while also collecting four points, four rebounds and two steals. Perez also had four points and three steals and Polivka finished with three points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
