Colby rides high into the holidays

Hornet girls extend win streak to 3

After dropping their season opener, the Colby Hornets have responded by winning their last three games, taking down Cloverbelt rivals Spencer and Granton on Thursday and Saturday, and picking up a road win over Athens on Monday.

The Colby girls record is now 3-1 overall, and 2-1 in the Eastern Cloverbelt.

55-51

At the start of the year the Colby girls basketball team was a work in progress. Not that this should come as a surprise, considering that the Hornets have a new head coach and new team on the floor.

But the work has paid off and the Hornets are now playing like a well-oiled machine, having won three straight games to push their record to 3-1.

It’s been a pretty dramatic turnaround for the Hornets, who opened their season with a tough loss against Columbus Catholic, but Colby didn’t dwell on defeat. Instead, they learned from it.

“After that last game, the next practice I asked them “What do you think?” They pretty much told me everything I was going to say,” Colby coach Terry Schmitt said. “So, I said we pretty much got this thing fixed already.”

It would take one half before the Hornets put it all together against the Spencer Rockets. Fouls, turnovers and free throws would dominate much of the game, and through the first ten minutes Spencer had a 19-8 lead.

That’s when Colby’s inside game began to click. The Hornets crashed the glass, and their touches in the post led to either buckets or free throws.

“We used a lot more of our short corner and looking inside,” senior Olivia Vollrath credited as the keys to the game. “Against Columbus we failed to do that, so we really worked on doing that tonight. It really helped us in this game.”

The Hornets rallied in the final eight minutes of the first half, finishing on an 18-2 run that gave them a 26-21 lead.

Spencer had no intention of going away. The Rockets are much improved team from last year, and had knocked off Columbus Catholic a few nights before.

Spencer’s Heavyn Kind and Rebecca Misna kept the Rockets in the game, but whereas the Rockets relied on a one-two punch, the Hornets got the job done by committee, as seven Hornets finished with their name in the scorers column.

Peavey, Lexi Underwood and Trista Meyer all finished with a team high 11 points. Vollrath added nine points and Brooke Suckow had five points and Brett Schmitt and Kya Viegut each had four.

“That’s exactly what I want,” Schmitt said. “I tell them it isn’t who scores, it’s just that we do score.”

Fouls remained a problem, but Colby’s bench gave players time to rest, focus and maintain their defensive intensity.

“When we got into foul trouble our bench is fast and they know what they’re doing. They really helped us tonight,” Colby senior Emma Peavey said.

Colby maintained the leade through the second half, but the Rockets pulled to within 34-32 with 12:46 to play. But each time Spencer appeared poised to regain the lead, Colby found a basket or made a much needed stop.

The Hornets held a 50-42 with 3:21 to play, but Spencer had one last run in them, making it 50-47 in the final moments. Colby kept its composure, and used free throws to pick up Schmitt’s first win as the Hornets head coach.

“It feels really good, and it feels really good for the girls,” he said when it was over. “They played so well tonight. We made mistakes, we fell behind, but you can’t teach not quitting, and they don’t quit. They never give up. I’m so proud.”

60-34

The Hornets returned to Colby two days later, hosting the Granton Bulldogs for a Saturday afternoon conference clash. The Hornets quickly muzzled the Bulldogs, effectively putting the game away in the first half.

Nine Hornets got involved on offense, and nearly everyone contributed on defense. Colby coach Terry Schmitt even went deep into his bench to give his JV players varsity reps.

“I can put almost any of the girls in almost any position on defense, and it’s very comforting to have that.”

The Hornets made lay-ups and turned steals into points. Colby also showed some shooting range. Kya Viegut, Olivia Vollrath and Trista Meyer spaced the floor as all three hit at least one triple.

Meyer, Emma Peavey, Brooke Suckow and Brooklyn Filtzkowski all found paydirt in the paint, and Colby opened on a 12-2 run. Colby snapped off another big run to close out the first half, going into the second half with a 35-15 advantage. The Hornets continued to hammer the ‘Dogs down low, and. Colby defeated Granton 60-34.

Meyer scored a game high 14 points. Vollrath joined her in double figures with 11. Suckow had seven, and Underwood, Peavey and Viegut all finished with six apiece. Filtzkowski and Hillary Feiten chipped in with four points each. Brett Schmitt had two points.

“Every game it’s looking better and better,” Schmitt said after the Hornets’ victory. “We got stuff we still need to work on, but every game they’re getting better at it. I think after a couple of weeks we should have everything that we can use in this offense.”

88-86

The Hornets found themselves in a much different game from Granton on Monday. Colby was on the road against a formidable Athens Bluejays team that tested them all night long.

“We started out strong, but got in foul trouble again,” Schmitt said. “We are starting to run the press better [but] we put them to the line and they shot very well from there, and that hurt us.”

Kya Viegut, Brooke Suckow, Emma Peavey and Trista Meyer came up with timely shots, but Viegut, Olivia Vollrath, Emma Peavey and Brett Schmitt fell into foul trouble, and Schmitt dipped into its bench once more.

“Hayden Willner, a sophomore, played a lot of minutes and multiple positions on defense was key for us when in foul trouble,” Schmitt said.

The Hornets forged ahead for a 46-35 lead after one half. Colby maintain its aggressive offense, but Athens answered back in the second half, with Elizabeth Van Rixel and McKennzie Schug working to whittle at Colby’s lead.

Athens out-scored Colby 51-42 in the final frame, but it was not enough to overcome the Hornets. Colby had more players involved on the offensive side of things, and eight players scored five or more points. Trista Meyer turned in a new career best as she led Colby with 21 points. Peavey had a season high of 18.

Kya Viegut and Brooke Suckow both finished with 11 points. Lexi Underwood tallied eight points. Vollrath added six points and Brett Schmitt had five points.

After the game, Schmitt had nothing but praise for his players.

“Again, effort was great. The girls were selfless and played as a team.”

FILTZKOWSKI FOR TWO -Brooklyn Filtzkowski shoots over a Spencer defender. Filtzkowski scored four points against Granton.STAFF PHOTO/ROSS PATTERMANN