The WACO Warrior girls and boys basketball teams broke out the brooms last night in Kalona, sweeping away the home Ravens in both ends of the Alumni Night SEISC doubleheader.

In the girls’ game, WACO quickly jumped out to a hot 15-5 start after the first quarter, swelling to an 18-point lead at the half. From there, it was an uphill challenge for the Warriors, after Hillcrest seemingly made halftime adjustments to respond in a big way in the third quarter and beyond. The Ravens outscored WACO 17-8 in the third period alone to cut the 18-point deficit to just nine ahead of the final eight minutes. However, Hillcrest could not complete the comeback, as WACO went 4/8 from the free throw line down the stretch to close the door with a 45-38 victory.

Unofficially, WACO finished plus one on the boards and plus five in turnovers. Individually, Brenna Graber and Ella Huisenga tied for top scoring honors with 15 apiece, while the Ravens were led by Claire Withrow’s 20. Withrow was one of only three Ravens that scored in the contest.

After the game, WCHC Player of the Game Brenna Graber joined KCII Sports to talk about her 15-point performance. “We have put in some new man plays that have really helped to get the guards to score some more, and finishing in the lane really helps. Also, my three pointers. I think made two in the first half, and that really helps put some points on the board for us,” Graber said.

WACO girls Head Coach Lisa Graber also joined KCII Sports to talk over her team’s narrow victory over the Ravens. “If we could break that press, that would take a lot of pressure off. Hillcrest was doing a great job putting some pressure on us down the stretch,” Graber said.

In the boys’ contest, an early season prize awaited the winner, as the victor would own sole possession of the top of the SEISC North standings, and it was Hillcrest that got out of the gates with a 16-7 lead after the first frame. Both teams would score 11 in the second to put the Ravens in front at the break 27-18. From there, it was the Warriors that stole the show, outscoring Hillcrest 30-19 the final 16 minutes en route to a 48-46 road win.

Unofficially, WACO finished plus nine on rebounds and minus four on turnovers. Christian Stacy was the individual leader with 24 points, 18 of which coming in the second half. Bryce Bailey led the Ravens with 11.

KCII Sports spoke with WCHC Player of the Game Isaac Egli on the postgame show about their pivotal victory. “Coming into this game it was really big. Our goal coming into this season was to win the north, and we knew this was going to be a huge game. Really wanted to win this game coming into it,” Egli said.

WACO boys Head Coach Chayse Roth also spoke with KCII Sports postgame to dissect their victory that put them alone atop the SEISC North. “We really buckled down and focused on not giving them [Hillcrest] easy looks. We did a really good job of staying on our feet, playing disciplined defense and making them shoot the ball over top of us,” Roth said.

The WACO girls and boys advance to 3-3 overall and 4-1 overall, respectively ahead of a road trip to Highland on Thursday in a doubleheader you can hear live on the KCII3 Stream. The Hillcrest girls and boys drop to 4-3 overall and 5-1 overall, respectively ahead of a road trip to Pekin Friday before the holiday break.