The Columbus Wildcat girls’ basketball team held on in a nip-and-tuck affair and beat their conference rivals, the Highland Huskies, 52-48 last night. Columbus led by two after one quarter, but Highland turned that into a three-point advantage going into halftime. The Huskies would still be leading by three entering the final period before the Wildcats turned things around and came back for a home victory.

Columbus sophomore Ariana Vergara had another strong night with 14 points, six rebounds and three steals. Wildcat senior Victoria Howell also provided a scoring punch with 12 points and a pair of three-pointers, while sophomore Aracely Garza dominated in the low post with nine points and 11 boards. Columbus improves to 4-4 in conference play and 5-6 overall ahead of traveling to Van Buren County tomorrow, while Highland falls to 3-6 overall and 2-5 in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference North and will next play at English Valleys tomorrow.