Photos courtesy of MP Sports Social Media (Nicole Miller)

The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk boys and girls basketball teams hosted their first hoops doubleheader of the season Tuesday night at Tim Grady Gymnasium in Wellman, but it was the visiting Benton Bobcats that came away with a pair of wins. In the girls contest, No. 3 in Class 3A Lady ‘Cats took a convincing 66-45 victory. Benton scored the first 12 of the game, parlayed that into an 18-2 run in total, leading 24-8 after one quarter and 37-19 at half. The Hawks would claw back within 11 late in the third after trailing by as many as 23, but the Bobcats held the Hawks at arms length the rest of the night. Benton knocked down a dozen threes in the contest, all from Emma Townsley and McKenna Kramer who led the way with 25 and 20 points respectively. Benton won the turnover battle 28 to 15 and outrebounded the Hawks by 11. Mid-Prairie was led by Callie Huber and Nora Pennington each with a dozen points. Huber finished with seven boards. The Golden Hawk girls fall to 1-1 with the loss and travel to Anamosa Friday, Benton is now 2-0.

The boys game was a 54-42 Benton win. Two very different halves played out in front of the fans in Wellman. The Bobcats started quickly and led 18-12 after the first eight minutes, but the second period belonged to the Hawks. Mid-Prairie ran in 13 straight points and went on an 18-4 run in total that lasted the entire second frame, allowing just two Bobcat field goals, holding them off the scoreboard entirely for a full five minutes. On top 30-22 at half, the Hawks would see the tables turn after intermission. The Benton defense put Mid-Prairie through an 11 minute drought from the floor after halftime, allowing only a pair of free throws in the third period, and three total baskets in the second half. The Bobcats outscored the Golden Hawks 32-12 after the break and forced 15 Mid-Prairie turnovers to seal the win. Carson Nolan had 18 points and Quincy Gilbert 13 to lead Benton. The Golden Hawks were led by a career high 16 points from Landon Sullivan. Mid-Prairie starts the year 0-1 and prepares for Northeast Goose Lake Saturday.