WOODWARD — Woodward-Granger left Earlham with a pair of WCAC basketball victories Tuesday, with the Hawk girls using a strong second half to post a 56-46 win while the boys team pulled away with a powerful fourth quarter for a 64-49 triumph.
W-G (3-1, 2-0) trailed Earlham (2-2, 2-2), 31-30, at the intermission, but slipped out to a 42-39 lead after three frames. A 14-7 scoring edge over the final eight minutes helped secure the victory.
Earlham buried 9-of-10 free throws, but while W-G sank only 50 percent at the line, the guests attempted 26 shots, making 13.
Darby Nixon had three 3-pointers for W-G, with Finley Fitzgerald and Emma Anderson each making one.
Katelyn Scharlau had a career-high 19 points to power W-G, with Nixon adding 11 points and Anderson 10. Mae Anderson had nine points, Fitzgerald five and Natalie Helbling two for the winners.
Rachel Smith hit three triples as part of a team-best 17 points for the Cardinals, with Alli Boyle making two treys en route to 16 points.
The boys game was a tight affair through three frames. The teams were tied at 8-all after one period and were locked in a 25-all tie at the break before W-G cracked open a 39-35 edge entering the fourth quarter.
W-G then pulled away with a 25-14 final eight minutes to claim victory. The Hawks calmly went wild at the foul line by draining 13-of-14 at the charity stripe in the final frame after sinking 3-of-4 in the third stanza.
Pacey Moats sank all six of his foul shots in the fourth frame to finish with 15 points, while Bryce Achenbach led the Hawks with 20 points. Reese Jamison had nine points, Keith Braunschweig eight, Kaya Bowlsby five, Nick Buch four and Alex Bice three.
T.J. Harkens had four 3-point baskets and a team-best 14 points for the hosts, with John Humphrey adding 10 points.
W-G hosts West Central Valley for a WCAC boys/girls set Friday. The girls game will begin at 6 p.m.
