Hornets bested in pair of Cloverbelt tests

The Colby girls basketball team fell in a pair of Cloverbelt-East conference games over the past week, losing to Owen-Withee at home on Tuesday evening and suffering a defeat to Neillsville on the road last Thursday.

Owen Withee, 70-27

Colby struggled to match the intensity of the visiting Blackhawks in their matchup with their conference foe. The Owen-Withee squad also shot extremely well, hitting nearly 70 percent of their shots within the three-point line to cruise past the Hornets 70-27.

While Colby matched the Blackhawks in turnovers, they could not turn them into points as easily as their opponents could as the Hornets found it difficult to find consistency on the offensive end of the court. The home team shot 19.6 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from beyond the arc. They did not score on consecutive possession until Dakota Hoeper had two putback shots with five minutes left in the game, resulting in an inability to carry any scoring momentum.

Owen-Withee had no such problems. The visitors were able to jump out to a 15-1 advantage to start the game and while Colby was able to narrow that lead with a 7-2 run over the next few possessions, the Blackhawks continued to lay down the pressure. They outscored the Hornets 18-2 over the middle minutes of the period, establishing a controlling 35-10 lead.

A 25-6 run over the first nine minutes of the second half put Owen-Withee in full command of the contest. The Hornets created a small 9-4 run late in the half, but it was not enough to put a dent into the solid lead the Blackhawks had created for themselves.

Brynn Polivka led the team with 10 points and four steals and added six rebounds. Hoeper had eight points and a team-high seven rebounds, Lucia Perez had five points and three steals and Olivia Krause had four points. Lilly Brzezinski grabbed six rebounds for the Hornets.

Neillsville, 81-28

The Hornets faced off against the Cloverbelt- East-leading Neillsville squad on the road last Thursday evening and the Warriors demonstrated why they are sitting atop the conference standings. Colby had no answers for the home team on either side of the ball and fell 81-28.

After falling behind 10-4 in the early minutes of the contest, the visiting Hornets struggled to find their footing, surrendering 22 straight points to Neillsville. Over the six minute stretch, the Warriors scored on nine of their 13 possessions while forcing Colby into nine turnovers. The stretch set the tone for the rest of the game, where Neillsville’s offensive efficiency and ability to turn Colby mistakes into points ultimately won out the game.

Down 47-15 at halftime, the Hornets were unable to make much headway in the second period. Neillsville opened with a 9-0 run and later scored 17 straight points to pull away even further.

The Warriors hit 15 three-point shots and finished the game with an impressive 1.40 points per possession. Turnovers also proved to be a huge difference maker between the two teams, with Colby turning the ball over 26 times, which in turn turned into 36 points for Neillsville, while the Warriors only turned the ball over eight times.

Angelique Hernandez had a team high nine points in the loss. Lilly Brzezinski added seven points and five rebounds, and Alexis Vanderhoof, Brynn Polivka, Dakota Hoeper and Sydney Meyer each had three points. Polivka had four rebounds and Olivia Krause finished the game with three assists.

The Hornets will try to find their second conference win when they invite the Loyal Greyhounds into town. In their last meeting earlier this season, Loyal came out on top, defeating Colby 54-37. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.

FIGHTING FOR POSITION - Lilly Brzezinski battles for an offensive rebound in the Hornets Tuesday night game against Owen-Withee.

STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD