With the holiday break in the rear view mirror many area teams hit the hardwood to get the season rolling again in a new calendar year. On Friday it was a Twin Valley League showdown as the Centralia Panthers welcomed the Wetmore Cardinals to town for a league tilt.

At the end of the night it was the Panthers girls and boys squads each picking up their third wins of the season as the lady Panthers topped the lady Cardinals 51-27 and the Centralia boys notched a 60-47 win over the Wetmore boys.

Girls matchup started off with a slow start by both teams but the road team Wetmore held a 10-8 lead after the first quarter, by packing in the defense inside the paint and Centralia miss firing on jump shots and three's (Centrlaia 0-10 from three-point land before hitting first three). That trend changed in the second quarter with senior, Riley Hanzlik coming into the game for the Panthers as she scored seven of her 13 points in the second quarter and Centralia took a 12-point lead into the half behind a 14-0 second quarter against Wetmore.

Hanzlik, the Community National Bank "Player to Bank On" in the KMZA broadcast and the Panthers continued to stretch their lead in the third quarter with a 22-9 third period and cruised to the 51-27 win. Senior, Kaitlyn Koch added nine points for the Panthers, while sophomore, Chelsea Huerter and freshman, Cassidy Haufler each posted eight on the night. Panthers improved to 3-2 on the year with the win.

Wetmore on the evening was led by senior, Brianna Boden, who scored 59% of the team’s points on the night tallying 16 with a trio of three-pointers. Cardinals fell to 2-4 on the season with the loss.

In the boys matchup it was a fast pace competition from the horn both teams running and gunning the entire game with Centralia finding enough holes and opportunities to capitalize enough to earn the win over Wetmore.

Centralia pushed out to a 16-10 lead after the first quarter and Wetmore was never able to get closer than four or five throughout the remainder of the game, as the Panthers added to their lead and stretched it to 20 multiple times in the second half but Wetmore continued to battle.

Panthers were led by senior, Brett Burdiek who posted a season high 23 points on the night going 5-6 from the free throw line and earning the Community National Bank "Player to Bank On" honors on KMZA. Fellow senior, Sam Steinlage joined Burdiek in double figures with 14, while junior Trevor Mars posted nine points to help Centralia improve to 3-2 on the season.

Wetmore in the loss was led by the tandem of junior, Jermey Hoelscher and senior, Kyle Shumaker who scored 19 and 15 points, respectively on the night. Cardinals with the loss fell to 1-5 on the season.

Both teams continue their season with a road league showdown next as Wetmore travels to Axtell on Tuesday (January 7th) and Centralia travels to Highland to take on Doniphan West.