Warriors, Dons dole out defeats for Colby squad

By Nathaniel Underwood

The Colby Hornets girls basketball team’s search for their fourth win of the season was thwarted over the past week by a pair of Cloverbelt- East foes. Both the Columbus Dons and the Neillsville Warriors proved to be stiff competition, completing their season sweeps of the Hornets with double-digit victories.

Neillsville, 78-21

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The visiting Warriors demonstrated why they are one of the top teams in the state and sitting atop the Cloverbelt-East standings on Tuesday evening. Neillsville dominated the affair, commanding the first half and using their significant lead to down the Hornets, 78-21.

Colby could not find much to work with against the Warriors, who had one of their best openings to a game this season. Neillsville scored the first 40 points of the contest and held the Hornets to just one basket in the first period. Brynn Polivka had the home team’s sole field goal, a three-point shot made with a little under three minutes left in the half.

They fared better in the second half, putting up 18 points, but the Warriors’early hold on the contest meant that this increase in offensive production did not have much of an effect on the final outcome. Polivka and Angelique Hernandez both hit two three-point shots in the game to lead the team in scoring. Hernandez made three of her four free throw attempts to put up a total of nine points and Polivka had the Hornets’ only two point field goal to end the game with eight points. Harrison Schmitt also had a basket from beyond the arc in the second half to come away with three points and Lucia Perez had one point.

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Columbus Catholic, 52-43

In another closely contested matchup between the Dons and the Hornets, Columbus Catholic once again came out on top, though this time was perhaps less dramatic than the previous three meetings between the two clubs. While Colby held the lead at various points in the game and rallied in the game’s final moments, a run in the middle of the second half pushed the game in favor of the hosting Dons, who won 52-43.

After starting out the game trailing 8-4, the Hornets turned the tables by going on a 12-2 run. Angelique Hernandez started things off by hitting a floating jump shot in the lane, Brynn Polivka hit a free throw and Brezlyn Boyer put back an offensive rebound to give the Hornets their first lead of the game.

Colby extended their lead when Lily Brzezinski turned another offensive rebound into a layup and a three from Polivka plus two free throws from Brzezinski gave the Hornets a 16-10 advantage. Over the stretch, Columbus only made one of their 13

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shot attempts and had five turnovers.

While momentum seemed to have shifted in the Hornets favor, the offense came to a halt. After Brzezinski’s free throws, Colby would not score again in the first period, going without a basket in the final seven minutes of the half. The Dons retook the lead and went into halftime with a 21-16 lead.

Despite the tough end to the first half, Colby came out and took control in the opening minutes of the second period. A three from Hernandez on Colby’s first possession set the tone and another from Alexis Vanderhoof allowed the Hornets to retake the lead. A pair of free throws from Polivka gave a three point lead. Columbus came up with another response, this time one that would prove decisive. A 27-8 run over the middle portion of the period put the Dons in a commanding position. The Hornets scored nine points in the final minute of the game, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit they had found themselves in and the Dons came out with the 52-43 victory.

Brzezinski had a double-double in the loss, putting up 12 points and collecting 15 rebounds for Colby. Hernandez also finished with double-digit points, putting up 11 while also having a team-high three assists and five steals. Vanderhoof finished the game with nine points, Polivka had six points and seven rebounds, and Alia Hamus had three points. Boyer finished the game with two points and Harrison Schmitt had 11 rebounds.

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