Photo Courtesy of Hudl

The WACO Warrior girls basketball team started the tournament trail Thursday with a first round Class 1A Regional win over Hillcrest Academy in Wayland 44-32. It was a tight defensive battle through the first half, with the Warriors on top 9-7 after one and 19-14 at half. WACO opened things up with a 17-7 run that spanned the full third quarter, leading 36-21 going to the fourth. The Ravens made a push to get it back to single digits but the Warriors stopped the run and scored the win. Brenna Graber led WACO with 15 points, Emma Wagler added 14 for the Warriors. Hillcrest got 14 points from Claire Withrow and 12 from Malia Yoder. Niva Helmuth had eight rebounds and Yoder three assists. With the loss, the Ravens end their season at 6-15. WACO improves to 13-9. They meet 17-4 Montezuma tonight on the road in the Regional Quarterfinals.