Hornets eye improvement in 2022-23
The Colby girls’ basketball team will be bringing a combination of youth and experience to the court for the 2022-23 season. With the core of last year’s varsity squad still largely intact and with last year’s experience under their belts, the Hornets will be looking to improve on their 8-16 overall record.
One could start to see those improvements even in the second half of the 2021-22 season. After starting out 1-8, Colby went 7-8 over the course of their last 15 games, including a first round playoff win against Princeton/Green Lake. It was clear that the young Hornets were starting to piece things together and gain confidence, something that head coach Terry Schmitt hopes that they can continue to build on in this coming season.
“They learned a lot last season,” he said. “They’ve worked really hard over the summer. They’ve all been to camps, they’ve all been doing summer league. A group got an AAU team together. They’ve really worked on their game.”
While there were upperclassmen who graduated, including all-conference honorable mention Kya Viegut, the Hornets were generally a young varsity squad last year, with Schmitt noting that at times in their final playoff game against Westfield, they had five freshmen on the floor.
The large number of returners includes senior guard Hayden Willner, who was named second-team all-conference last season. Willner, who was a focal point on both offense and defense last year, figures to be a big part of this year’s Hornets squad as well.
“She’s very strong defensively and attacking the hoop,” Schmitt said of Willner. “She’s our leader and she’s going to take us where we need to go.”
Trisha Vanderhoof, another senior, will provide experience and Hillary Feiten will be coming back to play for her senior season after not playing for the team during her junior year.
Junior Kylie Orth, who started on last year’s varsity squad, will also be returning, though with perhaps an expanded role. Schmitt noticed her confidence growing throughout the season last year and has seen improvements even from the end of last season to the beginning of this one.
Many of those freshmen who played on last year’s varsity team are back as sophomores and will likely be making big contributions to the team as well. Five will likely see a good amount of time on the court, including Alexis Vanderhoof, Angelique Hernandez, Hannah Trush, Harrison Schmitt and Savana Thomsen.
“Each of them brings their own element,” Schmitt said. “Some are really strong defensively, some are really strong shooting. We are still young, but we have a bit more experience, and there’s a good mix of that.”
While the Hornets are looking to add a few more wrinkles into their schemes, their overall strategy of pushing the floor on offense while pressing on defense remains intact.
“Attacking on offense, getting fast breaks is going to be key,” Schmitt said. “Defense is going to be our strength. That’s what kept us in games in the second half of the season last year, once the girls started figuring out what they were supposed to do and I think this year they’re just going to build off that.”
One of the aforementioned wrinkles that the Hornets could see added to their repertoire of weapons this season is outside shooting. Something of a weakness last season, a lot of work was put into the skill over the offseason by many on the team and it’s something that Schmitt has already seen the results of in their practices.
Lack of experience and its effect on decision-making is still a factor that Colby will have to overcome as the season progresses. Confidence also plays a large part in those decision-making moments. Once his players start gaining that confidence, however, Schmitt can see the Hornets becoming a very good team.
“Sometimes we’re going to see that youth come out,” he said. “But sometimes they’re going to do some things that they didn’t know they could do.”
After hanging around the middle of the conference last season, the Hornets have set their expectations a bit higher this season, looking to compete at the top of the Cloverbelt-East. They got off to an excellent start towards that goal in their first game of the season, where they defeated Cloverbelt conference foe Greenwood by a score of 57-38.
In the victory, Colby showcased their ability to create turnovers in their press defense while displaying a balanced attack on offense. Three players scored 11 points for the Hornets, with Feiten, Orth, and Alexis Vanderhoof ending the game in double figures. Hernandez added seven of her own and Willner hit three field goals to end the game with six.
Colby led Greenwood in field goal and three-point percentage and also had 15 steals in the game.
The Hornets struggled in their second matchup of the season, a non-conference game against Abbotsford. After going down 40-11 at halftime, Colby ultimately lost the game 65-26 to their neighbors to the north, with their inexperience showing at times. They committed 29 turnovers over the course of the game and were outrebounded 47-35. They also struggled shooting the ball, with an overall field goal percentage just under 20 and failing to make any of their 11 shots from beyond the threepoint arc. Willner and Orth combined for 14 of the team’s 26 points with seven each and Willner led the team with nine rebounds.
They also played a tight game against the Columbus Catholic Dons on Tuesday evening but couldn’t quite pull out the win, falling 51-47.
The Hornets held an 11-point advantage at one point in the second half. Down 21-19 coming out of halftime, the Hornets went on a 14-1 run to open play and take a 33-22 lead. That lead would dwindle slowly as play continued, and the game would turn into a back and forth affair as it pushed into the closing minutes.
Colby led 47-45 when Columbus’ Grace Wilczek hit a corner three to put the Dons up in the closing seconds. Colby could not convert on either of its two offensive possessions afterwards and Columbus made three of its four free throws to end the game.
Colby’s next game will be Monday, Nov. 28, where they will travel to take on Thorp. The start time for that game is 7:30 p.m.
TOP SCORERS - Hayden Willner, above, and Kylie Orth, below, led the Hornets with seven points each in Monday night’s game against Abbotsford.STAFF PHOTOS/SAMANTHA YOCIUS
