Both Wayne High teams had to work hard at home Saturday, but both were able to come away with hard-fought wins over Boone Central/Newman Grove in action at Wayne High School.
In the girls game, junior Kylie Hammer hit the 30-point barrier for the second time this week, tossing in a career-high 32 points to help the Blue Devils gut out a 56-47 win over the Lady Cardinals.
Wayne trailed early in the game, but three straight baskets by Hammer and a shot by Morgan Keating gave Wayne a 10-5 lead that they’d never relinquish.
Wayne led by as many as 10 points three times in the first half, the last on a basket by Keating to make it 29-19 before the Lady Cards cut the deficit to seven by halftime.
Wayne was able to maintain their advantage in the second half, taking an 11-point lead on a Jamie Gamble basket late in the third period, then withstood a late fourth-quarter effort by the visitors when they got as close as three points. Baskets by Hammer, Keating, Lindy Sandoz and Kelsey Boyer got the lead back to nine points and they hung on for the win to improve to 8-4 on the season.
Boyer added seven points, Keating had six and Alex Echtenkamp had four points for the Wayne girls.
In the boys game, the Blue Devils nearly lost the game at the buzzer in regulation, then needed a big defensive play at the end to escape with a 68-65 overtime win over the Cardinals.
The Blue Devils got out to a 15-7 lead in the first quarter on two Payten Gamble baskets and a pair of free throws by Beau Bowers, but the Cardinals bounced back with a solid second period to take a 31-27 lead at the break.
The Cardinals led by five going to the fourth quarter, but Wayne’s defense forced a number of turnovers that were converted into points, as the Blue Devils used an 11-0 run to take a 53-50 win on a Gamble 3-pointer from the left wing.
Wayne had a chance to put the game out of reach late, but Boone Central/Newman Grove hit a late 3-pointer to tie the game and had a chance to win it in regulation. The potential game-winning shot came after the buzzer sounded, sending the game to overtime.
In the overtime, Wayne broke a 61-61 tie with a turnover that led to a layup by Grayson McBride, and Gamble came up with a late layup to give Wayne a three-point lead. The Cardinals tried to get off a game-tying shot with time winding down, but Mason Lee came up with a big block and time expired to help the Blue Devils move to 8-3.
Gamble scored a game-high 25 points, McBride added 14 and Evetovich scored 13, while Lee had eight points and two blocks.
Both Wayne High teams hit the road Tuesday to face Laurel-Concord-Coleridge at 6:15 p.m.
