Warriors flex muscle against conference foe

WAYLAND — A pair of Southeast Iowa Super Conference North Division squads met up in Wayland on Tuesday night, as WACO hosted Highland in a boy-girl basketball doubleheader.

Both games went the way of the Warriors, as WACO toppled Highland 60-25 on the girls’ side, and the No. 3 (1A) WACO boys beat the Huskies 59-11.

The WACO girls used a flurry of offensive rebounds to knock off the Huskies. The Warriors piled up the points on put-back attempts, and soon turned what was a four-point game in the second quarter into a 26-11 halftime lead.

“That was sort of a goal, was to just crash the boards tonight,” said WACO girls coach Lisa Graber. “I think they did a good job of that.”

Though Highland’s Sarah Burton, who averages 12 rebounds per game, was able to clean up some of the glass, the amount of rebounders on the WACO team was too much for the Huskies.

“We stood and waited for the ball,” said Highland head coach Jody Fink. “You can't do that against a good team, and you can't do that against a good team that's got size.”

WACO had a balanced scoring attack, led by Ellah Kissell’s 17 points. Emma Wagler scored 14, including a pair of made 3-pointers. Grace Coble had 12. Katie Leichty finished with 10. Naomi Egli scored three, and both Marie Farmer and Halle Shelman scored two.

Burton led Highland with 11 points on the night. Jessica Kraus scored seven, all in the second half. Kylie Allen scored three points Stella Slaymaker had two. Katelyn Waters and Adisyn Prottsman each chipped in one.

It was time for the WACO boys to show what they’ve got in the nightcap, and the undefeated Warriors got it done against a very young Highland squad.

The WACO boys bursted out of the locker room with a 21-3 first quarter, which included a thunderous dunk by Simeon Reichenbach to get things started. Highland’s Ethan Paisley knocked down a 3-pointer late in the period, but it was all WACO early.

Highland was able to slow down the WACO attack more in the next three quarters, but the Warrior defense stayed sharp all night long. WACO led 35-3 at halftime and 49-5 after three quarters.

“We were looking for a strong defensive effort tonight,” said WACO head coach Paul Kissell. “I think we got that. Defensively, I couldn't ask for anymore.”

On Highland’s end, a Huskies team that lost almost all of their scoring from last year continued to live and learn against another top opponent.

“That's the level we want to be able to play at in the next couple of years,” said Highland head coach Bill Zywiec. “We're a young team, and it's good for us to play against one of the top teams in the state. If that's what we want to learn to compete against, you've got to play against that.”

Zywiec says he looks for his team to take what they saw on the court Tuesday night, and try to turn the Highland program into that type of squad in the near future.

“It's good for us,” Zywiec said. “It's not good to only score 11 points, but it's good for us to see where we want to get this summer.”

WACO’s Hunter Hughes and Colton Leichty coled their team with 12 points apiece in the win. Cody Graber scored 10. Chase Waterhouse had nine. Reichenbach finished with six. Isaac Oswald and Cody Graber scored four each, and Mason Miller finished with two.

Paisley’s three points led Highland. Logan McFarland, Tyler Thompson, Louis Horak and Nicolas Oriano each had two.