The WACO Warriors fought hard but lost their girls’ road opener and got a boys’ victory to start the new basketball season Monday night when they visited Holy Trinity Catholic for a doubleheader. In the girls’ game, WACO lost 50-42, but after being down 16-5 in the opening quarter, the Warriors played Holy Trinity even the rest of the night, including outscoring the Crusaders in the second half 30-22. WACO senior Ellah Kissell led the team with 18 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Grace Coble added eight points, six boards and two steals.

In the boys’ contest, the Warriors pulled away in the second half to defeat Holy Trinity 66-52, taking a 29-26 halftime lead and building on it thanks to sophomore guard Hunter Hughes putting up 13 of his game-high 23 points after the break. Senior Isaac Oswald and junior Colton Leichty had nine points each, and junior Cody Graber added eight. Both the WACO boys and girls are back in action Friday night against Wapello.