The holiday break is the rear view mirror and teams have it the court once again looking to start a run through the second half of the season. On Tuesday in Wetmore the Axtell Eagles flew in and came away with a pair of victories, topping the Wetmore Cardinals in Twin Valley League action, as the Axtell girls won 57-34 and the boys won 56-45.

The night started off with a close matchup in the first half of the girls game with Axtell doubling up Wetmore early 8-4 in the first quarter, but the Cardinals only trailed 10-8 after the first period and tied the game multiple times in the second quarter. Tied late in the first half, Axtell Eagle junior, Courtney Heinen drained a three-pointer to give the Eagles the 23-20 led at the half; the Eagles just missed out on making it a six-point lead at the half as a three-pointer at the buzzer for halftime misfired.

Coming out of halftime, Heinen shot out of a cannon with intensity and posted seven early points in the quarter for Axtell to work out to an 11-point lead over Wetmore. The Cardinals chipped at the lead by Axtell junior, Kiersten Talbot added nine points in the quarter to push to the lead to 41-30 after three quarters of play. The Eagles shut the door in the fourth, behind a 16-4 final frame earning the 57-34 victory.

Talbot and Heinen paced the Eagles on the night posting 19 and 12 points, respectively to earn Co-Community National Bank "Player to Bank On" honors on KMZA. For Talbot it was the fourth 19-point performance this season and for Heinen in her first real significant action back from her injury she posted double figures. The win pushes Axtell to 6-2 on the season and 3-2 in TVL play, while Wetmore falls to 3-4 on the year and 2-3 in League action. Wetmore in the loss was led by senior, Corrine Haverkamp who posted 10 points, while freshman Jill Henry added 9 points.

While the girls game proved to be a tight game early the boys game was not the same, as Axtell start clicking on all cylinders from the onset. Wetmore struck first with a great backdoor cut by senior, Layne Hodge, but Axtell then found a groove with plays in transition and some early three-point buckets and the Eagles led 16-8 after the first period. The second quarter was much of the same as Axtell posted another 16-8 quarter to led 32-16 at the half over Wetmore; Eagle junior, Mitchell Kuckelman was a spark off the bench in the second, scoring seven points of his 13 in the frame. 

The pace slowed down for the Eagles in the second half but they held of Wetmore from ever putting a stretch run together, but did manage to ultimately cut into the lead in the second half, as Axtell went on to grab the 56-45 victory.

The win moves Axtell to 4-5 on the season and 3-2 in TVL action, as Mitchell Kuckleman and Adam Kuckelman paced the team on the night with 13 points each. Mitchell's performance off the bench earned him Community National Bank "Player to Bank On" honors on KMZA. Senior, Tyler Jones also chipped in 12 points for the Eagles in the win. Wetmore with the loss falls to 1-6 on the season and 0-5 in League action. The Cardinals were led by senior, Jeremy Hoelscher who posted 21 points, while fellow seniors, Austin Morris and Andy Henry chipped in 10 and eight points, respectively.

League play continues for both teams on Friday as Wetmore will play host to Linn and Axtell heads home to host Frankfort.