The Keota Eagle girls and boys basketball teams broke out the brooms last night, sweeping away the Cardinal Comets in both ends of a non-conference doubleheader.

The night began with a 62-42 Keota girls win. The Eagles snagged control of the contest early at 18-12, with the Comets cutting the six-point advantage to one at the break with an 11-6 second period run. After an even third, the Eagles exploded in the fourth frame, scoring 23 points and holding Cardinal to just six in last eight minutes to secure the victory.

Unofficially, the rebounding battle went to Cardinal 30-27, but the glaring difference came with turnovers. Keota was turned over just 13 times to the Comets’ 26. Washington County Hospital and Clinics Player of the Game, Cameron Haifley, finished as the game-high scorer with 21 points, leading the Eagles in the win. Haifley joined KCII Sports postgame to talk about what aspect of her game was clicking the most in the win. “I think just seeing everyone on the court fully, and just knowing what to do and when to do it,” Haifley said.

Keota sophomore Emily Conger also joined KCII Sports postgame to discuss her performance. “We weren’t doing so hot in the first half, and our coach told us to get our heads on straight. I think it kind of motivated us to pick it back up and really get going. To end our season with a win, too,” Conger said.

Cardinal was led by 12 each from Kolbi Saner and Summer LaRue.

It was all Keota all night long in the boys game, as the Eagles notched another dominant win under their belt by a final of 69-23. The Eagles got started with 19 points in the first, and 24 more in the second to take a 43-12 halftime lead. Keota would outscore the Comets 10-5 in the third, and 16-6 in the fourth to stretch the final margin to 46.

Unofficially, Keota won all facets of the game, including turnovers and the glass. Billie Kindred again led Keota with 27, followed by Washington County Hospital and Clinics Player of the Game, Jace Chalupa, with 16. Chalupa joined KCII Sports on the postgame show following the win. “I think this gives us a lot of momentum going into the postseason, going on a little run, and [will help] build up our confidence,” Chalupa said.

Cardinal was led by Chase Coffman’s seven points.

With their wins, the Keota boys and girls improve to 18-3 and 11-10 overall, respectively, to complete their regular seasons, while the Cardinal boys and girls drop to 2-19 and 0-22 overall, respectively, as they also complete the regular season. The Keota girls will open up their postseason by welcoming Winfield-Mt. Union Thursday, while the Keota boys play host to Lone Tree Monday to start their postseason.