The WACO Warriors went into the holidays feeling merry and bright after they swept a conference basketball doubleheader at Lone Tree Tuesday night. The WACO girls led by five after the first quarter in the first game, but Lone Tree cut that deficit down by a point, 22-18, going into halftime. It wouldn’t be until the second half that the Warriors would kick their offense into high gear and pull away to win 61-35.

Senior Ellah Kissell again led the way for WACO with a game-high 22 points, while Grace Coble scored 17. Lone Tree freshman Ava Christofferson came off the bench to put up a team-high eight points, while fellow first-year player Alyson Ford finished with seven points and three rebounds. While the Lions fall to 2-3 in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference North and 6-5 overall, the Warriors improve to 5-1 in conference play and 7-2 overall.

The boys’ game was another example of why fifth-ranked WACO is one of the best teams in the state in Class 1A. The Warriors raced ahead of Lone Tree 20-8 after a quarter of play and pushed their advantage to 30 points at the half. WACO went on to win 72-29 behind a big night from guard Hunter Hughes. The junior hit six three-pointers and had game highs of 28 points and seven steals.

Junior forward Colton Leichty added 13 points and three rebounds as the Warriors move to 8-0. The Lions drop to 1-5 in league play and 3-7 overall. While Lone Tree will next play at Wapello on January 3rd, WACO will next hit the court when they host Louisa-Muscatine the same day.