Hornets can’t get past Spencer, fall short versus Marathon
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Colby girls basketball team dropped to 2-5 this season after suffering a road loss to Spencer last Thursday and falling to Marathon at home on Monday evening.
Marathon, 52-47
Nine three-point shots and a late rally for the Hornets were not enough to overcome Marathon during a non-conference matchup between the two squads in Colby. The Red Raiders held on to their second half lead and dealt the Hornets a 52-47 defeat.
While Colby managed to shoot 45 percent from beyond the arc on Monday, the visitors dominated inside, outscoring the Hornets by 28 to eight in the paint and holding them to just five two-point field goals all evening. The Red Raiders also collected 45 rebounds to Colby’s 28, only allowing the home squad to bring down six offensive rebounds.
The Hornets never led, falling behind 6-0 to open the contest. A three-pointer and a steal-turned-easy-layup for Angelique Hernandez brought Colby back within one, but that would be all the closer they would get to breaking Marathon’s hold over the contest. A 7-0 run for the Red Raiders quickly put the Hornets down by multiple possessions, but they managed to stabilize. While they kept Marathon’s advantage from expanding too much, foul trouble for the Hornets allowed the visitors to keep a leg up over the home team. The Red Raiders drew 10 free throw attempts in the final five minutes of the half.
Despite that, a transition basket from Hernandez had the Hornets back within a possession with under three minutes left in the half. It had appeared that that deficit would hold heading into the locker rooms, but a three in the final seconds from Marathon had them up 28-22 at halftime.
An 8-0 run for the Red Raiders to start the second period put Colby in a hole they could never quite recover from. A Polivka three ended the Hornets’ five minute scoring drought to start the half, but Colby found themselves behind by double digits for most of the second period.
A flurry of scoring in the final two and a half minutes gave the Hornets some hope. Hernandez rattled off eight straight points, six of which came off of three point shots, and Alia Hamus added her own three-pointer to give Colby 11 straight points and pull within six. A free throw from Alexis Vanderhoof narrowed that deficit further, down to five, but they could get no closer. Foul trouble continued to be an issue, with four Hornets eventually fouling out by the end of the game, and they ultimately fell 52-47.
Hernandez led Colby in several categories on Monday night. The senior scored 22 points, collected seven rebounds and had six steals, all of which were the most on the team. She hit four of her eight three point attempts as was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
Polivka added four three-pointers of her own and ended the evening with 14 points and five steals. Vanderhoof finished with four points, Hamus and Lilly Brzezinski each had three and Harrison Schmitt had one.
Spencer, 55-35
The Hornets traveled to Spencer looking for their first conference win of the season but were pushed away by the Rockets, who used a strong two-point shooting performance to dis-
See COLBY GIRLS BASKETBALL/ Page 18
IN TRANSITION - Angelique Hernandez breaks away from the pack on a fast break, en route to scoring two of her 22 points against Marathon.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD Colby girls basketball
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tance themselves from the visiting Colby squad.
While the Hornets outrebounded their opponents 48 to 38 and had similar final statistics across many categories, the difference maker was Spencer’s ability to get baskets inside the three-point arc. The home team shot 47.2 percent from that range, making 17 of their 36 attempts. Colby, meanwhile, made seven of their 38 two-point field goal attempts.
The lack of offensive production hurt the visitors early. A basket courtesy of Elizabeth Perez and a free throw from Harrison Schmitt were the Hornets only points over the first eight minutes of the contest. Colby made just one of its 14 shot attempts over that stretch, allowing the Rockets to take a 12-3 lead.
The tide shifted after Brynn Polivka was able to get a floater in the lane to fall, kicking off a 7-0 run for the Hornets. Colby scored on three straight possessions, getting a putback basket from Lilly Brzezinski before Polivka hit a corner three to bring the Hornets back within two points.
Unfortunately for the Hornets, they would never be able to fully close that gap. While they shot better down the stretch of the first period, Spencer also got a boost on offense. A 14-4 run for the Rockets followed Polivka’s three, putting Colby in a double-digit deficit that they would not be able to recover from. Another three from Polivka and an Alia Hamus free throw carved the gap back down to eight with a minute left in the period, but the Hornets still trailed 29-18 by halftime.
A seven-point spurt for Spencer to open play in the second period only widened that gap. Following a transition basket from Schmitt three minutes into the half, the Hornets went eight minutes between field goals, making just two free throws over that span. A three from Angelique Hernandez finally got them back on the board, but facing a 45-27 deficit with just seven minutes left, a comeback seemed unlikely. The two teams played relatively even until the final buzzer and Spencer came out with a 55-35 victory.
Polivka and Brzezinski led the Hornets in scoring, finishing with eight points a piece. Brzezinski had a team-high nine rebounds and added three steals while Polivka brought down seven rebounds and had two steals.
Schmitt had seven points and eight rebounds, Perez led the team in assists with three and had six points and three steals and Hernandez had three points. Alexis Vanderhoof finished with the most steals for Colby with four, collecting six rebounds and two points as well. Hamus rounded out the scoring with one point.
