basketball

The Columbus Wildcat girls and Lone Tree Lion boys were victorious as part of a doubleheader of Southeast Iowa Super Conference basketball Tuesday night in Lone Tree. In the girls’ game, Columbus extended a slim one-point lead at the end of the first quarter into a 32-23 advantage by halftime. The Wildcats pushed the lead to double digits going into the final quarter, and despite a rally from the home team, they held on to defeat the Lions 66-58.

Columbus was led by guard Ariana Vergara’s 21 points scored, and the junior added five rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocked shots. Junior teammate Lily Coil had a big night around the rim, collecting a double-double of 17 points and 15 rebounds while also dishing out a team-high seven assists.

Aracely Garza splashed home a pair of three-point shots on her way to 10 points and eight rebounds, while fellow junior Frannie Sosa added nine points, three boards, two assists and two steals to help the Wildcats improve to 2-0 and hand the Lions their first loss of the season.

In the boys’ game, Lone Tree battled back from a seven-point deficit in the opening quarter and grabbed a 29-27 lead by the half. Despite Columbus staying close most of the night, the Lions fended off the Wildcats and earned a 65-59 victory in their season opener. While both Columbus teams are back in action tonight against North Cedar, both Lone Tree squads next play tomorrow against Highland.