Santa Fe junior Taylor Wesley (23) scored 18 points, although the 'Cats' Aric Falls (12) had game-high honors with 23. (Chris Allen/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge]

SLATER -- Santa Fe and Slater split a non-conference boy-girl basketball doubleheader Wednesday, with the Chiefs and host Lady Wildcats each claiming their third straight victories.

Santa Fe broke open a four-point game with a 15-7 third-quarter run, junior Brett Case -- a transfer point guard from Wellington-Napoleon -- sinking three buckets to key the charge.

Junior Bryan Sander hit three shots in the opening period as the Chiefs pulled out to a 21-16 lead, but the Purple got a lift during the second quarter from senior Aric Falls.

Falls buried four three-pointers during the frame, accounting for 14 of the 'Cats' 20 points.

However, Slater -- which shot only 28.2 percent from the field -- couldn't maintain the pace. The 'Cats played evenly down the stretch, but Santa Fe made five of seven free throws to maintain the double-digit gap.

Falls wound up with 23 points and 14 rebounds for Slater (3-6), which also got 10 points from senior Austin Foster.

Junior Taylor Wesley led the Chiefs (5-1) with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Santa Fe also got good minutes from the bench, which tallied 25 points -- including 13 points and 11 boards from Sander.

The Slater girls limited the Lady Chiefs to one field goal and a free throw during the opening eight minutes of the early game, then added upon their 10-3 lead the rest of the way for a 53-33 win.

Senior Erika Yager scored eight of her game-high 15 points during the third period, as the Lady Wildcats doubled their eight-point cushion to take a 39-23 lead into the final frame.

Santa Fe was hurt by 28 turnovers, giving the Lady 'Cats 19 more shots from the field and 14 extra charity attempts. Junior Dani Heimsoth scored 12 points and sophomore Lauren Aversman pulled down 10 rebounds for the Lady Chiefs (1-5), who dropped their fifth game in a row.

Slater had 10 different players tally points, with junior Rachel Gonzalez and sophomore Niki Kruger combining for 13. Yager also had 10 rebounds for the Lady 'Cats (4-4).

Both schools will be involved in tournaments when they return to action after Christmas.

Slater gets going first Dec. 29 in the New Franklin Tournament, with the girls meeting fifth-ranked Pilot Grove and the boys taking on Northwest of Hughesville in the first round.

Pool play in the Lafayette County Tournament begins Jan. 2, with the Santa Fe boys facing St. Paul and the Lady Chiefs set for a rematch against Lexington.