Both WACO Warrior basketball teams defeated their Southeast Iowa Super Conference rivals from Winfield-Mount Union on the road Saturday.

The WACO girls used a 7-0 run at the end of the first half to create some space after a back-and-forth start with the Wolves, with a buzzer-beating three-point bucket from senior Ella Huisenga sending the Warriors into halftime up 27-18.

The lead would grow as large as 12 points in the third quarter, and WACO would respond to WMU cutting the margin down to 38-34 going into the final period with a 6-0 run to go up double-digits once more.

Winfield-Mount Union nearly pulled off an impressive comeback, closing the game on an 11-2 run that included getting within a point with less than five seconds left. But they could not get the ball back for a winning shot, as the Warriors held on for a 46-45 victory.

Huisenga scored 15 points to lead WACO, while sophomore Drew Graber had 10. Freshman Kynlee Buffington had a double-double of 23 points and 16 rebounds while also blocking seven shots for WMU, while senior teammate Josie Nelson added 12 points, six rebounds and three assists.

A fourth straight win raises the Warriors’ record to 6-3, including a 6-2 mark in the Super Conference North. Meanwhile, the Wolves fall to 1-6 in the conference and 2-9 overall.

The boys’ game followed a similar path. A pair of three-pointers from sophomore Hayden Shelman coming off the bench put WACO up 17-12 at the end of the first quarter, and a 12-5 run to close the first half sent the Warriors into the locker room leading 33-22.

Winfield-Mount Union’s deficit got as large as 16 points in the second half, and the Wolves would trail 43-28 going into the fourth frame. They would claw their way back but only got as close as five, and free throws from junior Christian Stacy put away a 51-42 win for WACO.

While Stacy scored a game-high 19 points, the majority of the early offense for the Warriors came elsewhere. Sophomore Holden Hughes scored 11 of his 15 points in the first half, and senior Clayton Miller scored eight points in the first two quarters.

WACO head coach Chayse Roth told KCII Sports after the game that developing depth on offense is key to continuing their undefeated start to conference play.

“We’re pretty well-rounded on the offensive end,” Roth says, “and we want to be that way because it makes defenses [have it] tough to prepare for you and scout you. If we’ve got five guys that can go for double figures on any given night, that helps us a lot.”

Senior Jake Edwards had 13 points and seven steals to lead Winfield-Mount Union. While the Warriors are now 7-1, the Wolves drop to 5-4, including a 5-2 record in league play. Both WMU teams next play tomorrow night at Pekin, while both WACO teams return home tomorrow evening to face Wapello.