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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield Columbus Catholic girls basketball team followed up a lackluster opener with a big-time victory over a team expected to be near the top of the conference this season.
The Dons took their first lead of the game with 13 minutes to go and went ahead for good with just more than 8 minutes to go, then held off Colby 62-59 in a Cloverbelt Conference East Division matchup Friday night at Columbus Catholic High School.
Columbus dropped its open 45-30 at Rib Lake on Tuesday, but had its offense clicking at a better pace in its home opener.
Colby, playing its season opener, pulled ahead by 11 at 31-20 late in the second half after consecutive 3-pointers from Ashley Streveler, who led all scorers with 22 points, and a pair of free throws.
The Dons were able to close to within 33-27 at halftime after a three-point play from Marissa Immerfall and a basket by Katie Hall.
“We talked about it before the game that they are a very, very good team,” first-year Columbus Catholic head coach Marty Draxler said. “We needed to box out, we needed to take care of the ball, and limit our turnovers. I think we did that. They (Colby) shot the lights out in the first half and we stay composed.”
The Dons gained their first lead at 41-38 on a 3-pointer from Morgan Albrecht. Albrecht and Addison Baierl added 3-pointers to counter long balls from Carley Elmhorst and Streveler, and the game was tied at 47-47 with 10:31 left.
Baierl drilled another 3 with 8:22 to put Columbus up 51-49 and the Dons would never trail again, although the game remained tight until the final buzzer sounded.
Columbus led by four on four different occasions but couldn’t shake the Hornets.
Columbus made only one basket from the field over the final 8 minutes, and made only 9 of 16 free throws, but it was enough as Colby went cold. The Hornets missed their final 10 shots and were only 5 of 12 at the free throw line in the closing 6½ minutes.
“We ran out all eight players and I think they got tired, not us,” Draxler said. “Before the game, I would not have believed that to be true. I was extremely happy. I told them straight up that I didn’t sub correctly (against Rib Lake). We stayed fresher and I didn’t get trapped with bad combinations on the floor. If we play this well all year, I’m very excited.”
Immerfall, who had a team-high 17 points and seven rebounds for the Dons, hit two free throws with 3.3 seconds to go to provide the final margin as Colby couldn’t get a good shot to tie it at the end.
Columbus will be off until next weekend when it will compete at the Cranberry Classic at Wisconsin Rapids Assumption on Nov. 24-25.
Dons 62, Hornets 59
Colby 33 26 – 59
Columbus Catholic 27 35 – 62
COLBY (59): Hailey Voelker 3-5 0-0 6, Morgan Geiger 0-0 0-0 0, Carley Elmhorst 6-18 5-10 20, Mackenzie Seemann 0-3 0-1 0, Vanessa Lopez 2-4 1-4 6, Ashley Streveler 8-16 3-7 22, Alyssa Underwood 2-7 0-0 5, Heather Lynn 0-0 0-0 0, Megan Underwood 0-3 0-2 0. FG: 21-56. FT: 9-24. 3-pointers: 8-27 (Steveler 3-10, Elmhorst 3-10, Lopez 1-2, A. Underwood 1-3, Seemann 0-2). Rebounds: 37 (Elmhorst 8). Turnovers: 17. Fouls: 26. Fouled out: A. Underwood. Record: 0-1 overall and Cloverbelt Conference East Division.
COLUMBUS CATHOLIC (62): Annika Brown 2-3 1-3 5, Morgan Albrecht 3-5 3-4 12, Hailey Roehl 1-4 4-11 6, Maren Seefluth 0-0 3-4 3, Addison Baierl 5-11 3-4 15, Katie Hall 2-3 0-0 4, Zoe Stratman 0-2 0-0 0, Marissa Immerfall 6-15 5-8 17. FG: 19-43. FT: 19-34. 3-pointers: 5-13 (Albrecht 3-5, Baierl 2-6, Roehl 0-1, Hall 0-1). Rebounds: 26 (Immerfall 7). Turnovers: 19. Fouls: 20. Fouled out: Albrecht. Record: 1-1, 1-0 Cloverbelt Conference East Division.