Wildcats pull away in second half

Playing in front of a home crowd for the first time this season, the Iola-Scandinavia girls’ basketball team had an opportunity to pick up its third win in as many games.

The Wild Rose Wildcats, however, kept that from happening.

The Wildcats used a pair of big runs in the second half, outscored the Thunderbirds 31-17 over the final 18 minutes, and returned home with a 65-46 win on Nov. 26.

Neither team led by more than seven points in the first half. The Thunderbirds led 15-8 early in the game, but Wild Rose answered by outscoring the home team 26-14 to take a 34-29 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Wildcats opened the second half with a 7-2 run to push the lead to 10 points, and the Thunderbirds never got closer than six points the rest of the way.

Iola-Scandinavia trailed 53-44, but the Wildcats sealed the win by outscoring the Thunderbirds 14-4 the rest of the way.

CayLeigh Woyak and Emma Printz led Iola-Scandinavia with 18 and 13 points, respectively. Wild Rose’s Cali Halvolitz led all players with 32 points, and teammate Alyson Henschel added 20.