************************************THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED****************************************
WACO and Winfield-Mt. Union are back on the hardwood tonight as the Superconference foes square off in the KCII Area Game of the Week.
The girls kick off the doubleheader, with WMU entering Tuesday 2-9 in conference play and 4-10 overall. The Wolves ended a five-game skid last week by beating Louisa-Muscatine 41-37. Winfield-Mt. Union saw a double-double from Madisen Kellogg who had 15 points and 12 boards. Kellogg is also top-10 in 1A basketball in points, field goal makes, and field goal attempts. The Wolves are scoring just under 34 points per night and allowing 49. They’ve shot 29 percent from the floor, including 18 percent from three. Collectively, WMU is good for 30 rebounds, nine assists, 10 steals, one block and 29 turnovers per game.
WACO’s girls come to Winfield 6-6 and fourth in the Superconference north at 6-3. The Warriors had won two in a row to start the new year before falling to Iowa Valley Thursday, 57-35. WACO scored just 13 second-half points in the loss as the offense struggled to get it going. When the Warrior offense clicks, it’s usually Emma Wagler playing a big role. Wagler leads the team with 157 points and enters tonight’s contest averaging a double-double. Shooting 31.7 percent from the floor, WACO scores nearly 43 points per game while allowing 44. Very similar to the Wolves in rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks per game, WACO holds the turnover advantage, averaging 13 fewer per night than WMU. The Warriors won the first matchup this season, 47-29 on December 5.
Superconference one and two battle it out in the boys’ game. The 11-1 Wolves hold the number six ranking in 1A and are still perfect in conference play. They’ve won nine in a row, including their most recent, a 95-48 drubbing of L-M. Cam Buffington, Abram Edwards, and Jake Edwards each went for 20 or more in the win. Gabe Hemsworth also had double figures for a Winfield-Mt. Union team averaging more than 61 points per night. The Wolves have the seventh-best field goal percentage in 1A, hitting nearly half of their shots. The team is also fourth in assists with 237, tied for eighth with 55 blocks, and their 308 field goals are the seventh-most in the class.
They’ll try to keep up that success against a WACO team that has won two in a row and six of its last seven. It’s been over a week since the Warriors last game which they won 53-31 over Pekin. Hunter Hughes went for 18 points and 11 boards in the victory, while Colton Leichty joined him in double figures. Hughes has been valuable on the defensive side as well, currently with the fourth-most steals in his class. The Warriors score 58.7 points per night and allow 42.5. They hold the edge on WMU in rebounds, averaging five more per game, in steals, averaging six more per game, and in free throw percentage, 15 points higher than that of the Wolves. The Warriors got the best of the Wolves in their December meeting, taking the contest 46-30.
Listen to the second matchup between the WMU and WACO boys and girls basketball teams on the KCII3 Stream. Pregame coverage starts tonight at 5:30, followed by the girls tip at 6, then the boys live from Winfield.