CFNN Reporters: Ana Warchal, Karalina Tomasic and Saylor Drose

On Tuesday night, the Lady Colts had a tough matchup against the undefeated Seventy-First Falcons at home. The Lady Colts fought hard, but came up short, ultimately losing 56-26. The girls basketball team currently sits at 5th in the United 8 conference with a 1-2 record and a 5-5 record overall.

With several starters out due to various injuries, the deck was already stacked against the Colts even before tip-off. Elisabeth Kirkland and Sydney Britt were out with knee injuries, and Liliana Colon was out of the game as well with a shin injury.

Not having Kirkland’s 14 points per game and 5 steals per game definitely hurt the team; however, the Colts still put up a valiant effort in the contest. 

This meant the Colts had to rely on the rebounding skills of Freshman Shanel Sutton, who has averaged 12 rebounds per game this season. 

The first quarter was evenly matched, however the Falcons got ahead 10-7 at the end of one. Center Klara Konecny led the charge with 5 rebounds and 9 points on the night, 4 out of the 9 coming in the first. Konecny is in her first year with the team. She is, interestingly enough, a foreign exchange student from Germany.

“Family is a big push in their support, them being there for me, helping me with whatever they can and just trying to be successful in general in school out of school with basketball. Being successful with my teammates and my team winning it is a competition though and having a spot on that team is a competition. There is always someone better than you, which is why you have to work for it. You have to put in the effort during practices that you get from your coaches and you have to do it while on the court and at home as well,” said Konecny.

The second quarter decided the game, with the Falcons rallying and soaring ahead of the Colts with 33 points to go up 43-10 at the break.

The Colts added 7 after the half, but couldn’t cut into the Falcons lead as they trailed 54-17. They continued to fight, out-scoring the Falcons 12-2 in the fourth quarter, but the Falcons lead was just too large to overcome.

Senior guard Olivia Arnette chipped in 6 points, 4 rebounds and an assist for the Colts, along with Sophomore Emily Harris’ 4 points and 3 rebounds.

“It was really hard to rely on myself for my team and everything because Lizzy is one of our key players, and that’s the player we rely on the most definitely throughout the season. I had to realize that it was just me out there on the court and nobody else. I play mainly for my team and to be the best I can, so that is what I did; I played the best I could for myself and my team,” said Harris.

Tonight the Lady Colts will be away from home travelling to Jack Britt to play the Buccaneers at 6:00pm. 

Then on Friday they will travel to South View to take on the Tigers in another conference matchup. 

There is no doubt the Colts will continue to strive and play to the best of their ability to perform well on the court. Let’s hope they come back home with a win!