PREP ROUNDUP: Westwood Baptist teams advance to tourney finals

WATERTOWN, Wisc. — The Westwood Baptist Academy Eagles and Lady Eagles basketball teams both advanced to the finals of the Sabercats Invitational Tournament at Maranantha Baptist University on Friday with victories over Tabernacle from Gardendale, Alabama.

The boys won 48-35 on the strength of James Hawley’s game-high 23 points, while teammate Jeffrey VanDover added 10.

“We handled the press well and had a solid effort by everyone involved,” said head coach Josh Hawley.

Tabernacle’s lead scorer was Daniel McCormick with 21 points.

The Lady Eagles won 45-23, led by Chloe Dodd with 13 points and Katie Gross with 12.

“It was a good team effort from the girls,” Coach Hawley said.

Tabernacle’s Ashlynn Howard led all scorers with 15 points, all coming on 3-pointers.

Both teams will play for the tournament championship on Saturday. The girls will play at noon, and the boys tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

THURSDAY’ GAMES

Ellington 56, Lesterville 53

Ellington saw Lesterville rally from a double-digit, second-half deficit before holding on for the win.

Kaylee King led Ellington (11-7) with 28 points, while junior Dylan Price continued her return from injury with nine. Sadie Lloyd and Ella Morton contributed nine and eight points, respectively.

WBA begins tourney play with sweep

The Westwood Baptist Academy squads opened up play at the Sabercats Invitational at Maranantha Baptist University in Watertown, Wisconsin with convincing opening-round wins.

The girls beat Suburban Catholic 49-23 as Katie Gross (21 points) and Natalie Killhafner (12) spearheaded WBA’s attack.

James Hawley was plenty Gouda in the land of cheese, scoring 40 points in a 68-57 win over Suburban Catholic. Nathan Collier added 11 points to help the Eagles in the win.