WACO girls move on

The WACO girls? basketball team started off the postseason with a statement on Thursday night.

Three players finished in double figures, along with a career-high 12 points from Gaby Wagler, as the Warriors cruised to a 59-27 victory over Tri-County in the first round of the Class 1A tournament.

?We got off to a good start,? WACO head coach Shannon Rugg said. ?Aaliyah (Brown) and Ericka (Leichty) both had double-digits and Gaby Wagler had a career-high 12 points. We got after it defensively and created some turnovers.?

Brown scored 19 points in the game, followed by Leichty?s 13 points for the Warriors, who have now won seven of their last eight games.

The win sets up a second-round match-up with an IMS girls? team that is fresh off an upset of Keota on Thursday night.

The two teams met twice this season, with WACO winning by 16 in each of the games. Despite the previous wins, Rugg knows that they will be tested on Tuesday.

?They know what we are going to do and they know what we are going to do,? Rugg said. ?It?s going to be a battle for four quarters and hopefully we can find a way to put the ball in the hole and get better. We have our work cut out for us.?

The Warriors took charge early in the game, jumping out to a 19-7 lead after one quarter, and cruised into halftime, leading 36-16.

Things didn?t change in the second half as the Warriors picked up the playoff victory.

The game against IMS will be in Keota on Tuesday night, with tipoff set for 7 p.m.