The Columbus Wildcats and WACO Warriors split their basketball doubleheader Friday night in Columbus Junction to remain inside the top two in their conferences.

The Columbus girls rallied from an early deficit to take a 19-18 lead into halftime, but a 12-5 run to end the game is where they really put WACO away on their way to winning 44-33.

Senior Ariana Vergara led the Wildcats with 10 points scored and also had six rebounds, three assists and five steals. Frannie Sosa and Aracely Garza added nine points each and combined for 14 rebounds, while fellow senior Lily Coil finished with eight points and seven boards.

With the win, Columbus improves to 13-2 in the North division of the Southeast Iowa Super Conference and 16-3 overall. Meanwhile, a loss drops WACO to 11-8, including a 9-6 record in conference play.

The Warrior boys used a 20-10 run to take a 34-23 lead over the Wildcats at the half and would pull away from there to win 72-55. Senior Isaac Rich paced WACO with 19 points and five made three-pointers, while junior Christian Stacy had a double-double with 18 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

Sophomore Holden Hughes added 15 points, seven boards and two blocked shots as the Warriors raise their record to 12-2 in the Super Conference North and 14-4 in total.

Senior Ryan Coil scored a game-high 20 points and collected five steals for Columbus, while junior Gabe Zuniga chipped in 13 points and three triples off the bench. Sophomore Drake Marin netted 10 points as the Wildcats fall to 6-12, including a 4-10 mark in league play.

While Columbus next takes on Pekin this evening, WACO will face Winfield-Mount Union later tonight. You can catch the Warriors taking on the Wolves in the KCII Area Game of the Week, starting with pregame coverage at 5:30 p.m. exclusively streaming on KCIIradio.com.