NEILLSVILLE GIRLS BASKETBALL PULLS AWAY FROM COLBY, MOVES INTO FIRST-PLACE TIE IN CLOVERBELT EAST
Zaleski Sports
COLBY – Neillsville broke open a tight game by holding Colby to just three made baskets in the second half and beat the Hornets 42-34 in a battle of Cloverbelt Conference East Division girls basketball leaders on Thursday night at Colby High School.
Neillsville led 22-21 at halftime before pulling away thanks to its stellar defensive performance, holding the Hornets to 13 points in the second half.
Neillsville moves into a tie for first place in the Cloverbelt Conference East Division standings with Loyal and Marshfield Columbus Catholic at 4-1, one-half game ahead of Colby, which drops to 4-2.
Colby had won six-straight games against Neillsville over the past two seasons, including a pair of playoff victories.
Alli Schoengarth scored 11 points and Bella Opelt added 10 for the Warriors (5-1 overall).
Emma Peavey had 14 points, and Lexi Krebsbach made three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points for Colby (5-3 overall).
Both teams return to action Dec. 27 with nonconference road games. Neillsville will be at Auburndale and Colby will play at Edgar.
Warriors 42, Hornets 34
Neillsville 22 20 - 42
Colby 21 13 - 34
NEILLSVILLE (42): Bella Opelt 3 4-8 10, Alli Schoengarth 4 3-5 11, Olivia Friemoth 0 0-0 0, Riley Voigt 0 3-4 3, Jaden Barth 0 0-0 0, Emma Moseley 2 1-2 7, Amelia Trunkel 1 0-1 3, Terren Stockheimer 2 0-0 6, Kayla Oldham 0 1-5 1, Parker McDonald 0 0-0 0, Catrina Craig 1 1-2 1. FG: 12. FT: 13-27. 3-pointers: 5 (Stockheimer 2, Moseley 2, Trunkel 1). Fouls: 12. Fouled out: none. Record: 5-1, 4-1 Cloverbelt Conference East Division.
COLBY (34): Hailey Voelker 1-12 2-4 4, Olivia Vollrath 0-2 0-0 0, Kersten Wiese 0-2 0-0 0, Lexi Underwood 2-6 0-0 5, Emma Peavey 5-12 4-4 14, Trista Meyer 0-1 0-0 0, Lexi Krebsbach 4-11 0-2 11. FG: 12-46. FT: 6-10. 3-pointers: 4-17 (Krebsbach 3-7, Underwood 1-4, Peavey 0-3, Voelker 0-3). Rebounds: 30 (Voelker 8, Vollrath 8). Fouls: 22. Fouled out: Underwood. Record: 5-3, 4-2 Cloverbelt Conference East Division.