Girls’ basketball roundup: Wolves, Golden Hawks stay hot

It was the usual suspects on Friday night in girls basketball. No. 13 Winfield-Mount Union and Mid-Prairie continued to play well to start the season. Highland also picked up a big win at Wapello.

No. 13 (1A) Winfield-Mount Union 54, Columbus 17

The Wolves’ defense held Columbus to single digits in each of the four quarters of a North Division battle.

Bradie Buffington finished the night with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Keely Malone scored 12. Keetyn Townsley ended with 11 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals, and Josie Nelson scored nine points.

Lone Tree 40, Pekin 22

It was a wild one in Packwood as Pekin led 8-0 after one quarter, but Lone Tree dominated the second to take a 17-10 advantage at halftime, and then returned the shut out to the Panthers in the third, winning it 11-0.

Both teams scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, but by that time it was too little, too late for the Panthers.

Highland 50, Wapello 44

Highland started strong and hung on to earn a North Division road win. The Huskies led 10-8 after one quarter, 24-21 at halftime and 35-29 after three quarters.

Sarah Burton had a monster game for the Huskies. She scored 32 points, pulled down 14 rebounds and led the team with five steals.

Katie Herrig put up six points in the win. Kelsi Cerny and Jessica Kraus scored four.

Mid-Prairie 66, Durant 22

Mid-Prairie tripled up Durant in one of the more dominant performances from an area team this season.

The Golden Hawks were up just two points after one quarter but outscored Durant 29-4 in the second quarter and never looked back in a River Valley Conference victory.

Amara Jones filled the stat sheet with 12 points, eight assists and five steals in the win. Maya Nonnenmann had 12 points. Jovi Evans scored 11, and both Landry Pacha and Kylie Reinier scored nine. Reinier added four steals.

Holy Trinity Catholic 53, Van Buren County 33

The Warriors were down just four, trailing 15-11 after one quarter, but Holy Trinity held Van Buren County to three in the second quarter and the Warriors couldn’t recover.

No. 13 (2A) West Burlington 66, New London 34

The Tigers couldn’t hang on against a tough West Burlington squad. The Falcons led 41-19 at halftime and 60-27 after three.

Albia 52, Cardinal 21

Cardinal hosted Albia in search of its first ever South Central Conference win, but the Comets couldn’t get it done, falling by 31.

Albia led 13-6 after one quarter, 26-10 at half and 41-15 after three quarters.

Lynnville-Sully 44, Keota 32

Keota had a strong start, leading 13-9 after one quarter, but Lynnville-Sully won the next three.

The Eagles trailed 21-17 at halftime and 32-26 after three quarters, and the Hawks pulled away in the fourth.