Columbus Catholic girls basketball uses second-half surge to defeat Colby

Columbus Catholic senior Gracie Wilczek scored a team-high nine points in the Dons' home win over Colby on Friday. (Photo by Paul Lecker/MarshfieldAreaSports.com)

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MARSHFIELD – It was hard to imagine the Columbus Catholic girls basketball team shooting any worse than it did in the first half of its matchup with Colby on Friday night.

The Dons made just two of 25 shots from the field and were 0-for-13 from 3-point range in the opening half as the two teams played to an 8-8 tie. However, coming out of the locker room, things got much better for Columbus Catholic.

The Dons made six of its first eight shots in the second half, opened up a double-digit lead, and cruised to a 37-24 win at Columbus Catholic High School.

Katelyn Casperson hit a pair of 3-pointers and Chayse Blenker scored twice in a 15-4 run over the first seven minutes of the second half to help Columbus Catholic take control.

Colby scored the game’s first six points before the Dons came back to score the next eight as the Hornets (2-7, 0-5 Cloverbelt East) went 11 minutes without a point.

A basket by Angelique Hernandez with 16 seconds to go before halftime ended the drought for Colby and tied the score at 8-8 going into the break.

Casperson drilled her first 3-pointer on the oening possession to help the Dons get their offense going. Colby’s Harrison Schmitt scored two of her team-high 10 before the Hornets went cold again, scoring just four points of the next 11 minutes.

Columbus Catholic (5-4, 2-3 Cloverbelt East) took advantage, opening up a 33-14 lead after a 10-0 run, including five points from Gracie Wilczek, to put the game out of reach.

Wilczek finished with nine points and a team-beat seven rebounds, and Izzy Holz added eight for the Dons, who went 12-for-28 in the second half from the floor.

Columbus Catholic will be back in action Friday, Dec. 27, at Marathon.

Dons 37, Hornets 24
Colby 8 16 – 24
Columbus Catholic 8 29 – 37
COLBY (24):
Lexi Vanderhoof 1-6 0-0 2, Angelique Hernandez 2-5 0-0 5, Brynn Polivka 1-14 2-2 5, Lilly Brzezinski 0-0 0-0 0, Elizabeth Perez 1-3 0-4 2, Harrison Schmitt 5-9 0-2 10, Lucia Perez 0-5 0-0 0, Alia Hamus 0-4 0-0 0. FG: 10-46. FT: 2-8. 3-pointers: 2-23 (Hernandez 1-5, Polivka 1-9, Vanderhoof 0-2, Schmitt 0-2, L. Perez 0-2, Hamus 0-3). Rebounds: 31 (Vanderhoof 7). Turnovers: 23. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: none. Record: 2-7, 0-5 Cloverbelt Conference East Division.
COLUMBUS CATHOLIC (37): Abigail Wojcik 0-0 0-0 0, Katelyn Casperson 2-7 0-0 6, Izzy Holz 3-14 2-3 8, Sophia Wilczek 1-9 0-0 3, Bella Maurer 0-0 0-0 0, Hailey Hargraves 1-4 0-0 2, Gracie Wilczek 3-10 2-2 9, Chayse Blenker 2-4 1-4 5, Abigail Kibbel 1-3 0-0 2, Maddie Bernick 1-1 0-0 0, Norah Alcott 0-0 0-0 0, Aubrye Lambrecht 0-1 0-0 0. FG: 14-53. FT: 5-9. 3-pointers: 4-26 (Casperson 2-6, G. Wilczek 1-4, S. Wilczek 1-8, Hargraves 0-1, Lambrecht 0-1, Holz 0-6). Rebounds: 34 (G. Wilczek 7). Turnovers: 19. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: none. Record: 5-4, 2-3 Cloverbelt Conference East Division.