GIRLS: Maize 53, South 23

The game started well enough for the Lady Cougars, but after the first quarter, it was all Eagles as they rolled to an easy victory, dropping South to 8-11 on the season.

The Cougars got three-pointers from Sydney Peterson, Kylie Arnold and Kalysa Hamel and held a three-point lead on two occasions, the last coming at 11-8. Maize got five straight points from Sydney Holmes to take a 13-11 lead after one.

Up to that point, South got several good looks and hung tough on the defensive end. But all of that would change as Maize turned up the defensive pressure. They held the Cougars to just one field goal in the second quarter and took advantage of their size in the paint, in particular by crashing the offensive glass.

The Eagles led 30-14 at the half and continued to dominate in the second half. They extended the advantage to 30 by the end of the third quarter. The fourth period was played with a running clock.

Peterson scored 10 points to lead South and Holmes had 17 to lead Maize (15-2).

BOYS: Maize 62, South 58

The Cougars turned in a much better performance against the Eagles than they did on their home floor last Thursday, but in the end it was not enough as Maize held on late for a close victory.

The teams went back and forth in an entertaining first half. South started well, attacking the basket successfully in building an 8-2 lead. The Cougars led 16-12 after one quarter.

Maize started the second quarter on a 13-5 run and then the Cougars came back with a 9-0 burst. They were at their best by getting out on the fastbreak following forced turnovers or after getting a defensive rebound. South led 30-25, but then the Eagles came back with the last five points of the half to tie the score. They then stormed out of the gates in the third quarter with a pair of threes which was part of a 12-2 start to the half and a 42-32 lead.

From that point on it was an uphill battle for the Cougars. They trailed 51-40 early in the fourth before making a push. Josh Jordan forced a Maize timeout after a brilliant sequence where he converted a layup, hustled back defensively and stole the ball, and then going coast to coast for another layup.

Down 57-53, the Cougars were forced to foul to extend the game. Maize left the door open with a miss at the line, but South would turn the ball over on back-to-back trips and that prevented them from getting within one possession at the end.

Jordan led all scorers with 23 points and Colin Schreiber had 12 for the Cougars (14-3). Maize (17-2) got 18 from Jacob Hanna and 15 from Kyle Grill.

The Cougar boys will play at Campus on Thursday. Both girls and boys teams will finish the regular season at home on Friday against Goddard.