(Chris Allen/Democrat-News) Junior Taylor Wesley's 19 points weren't enough for the Chiefs to hold off sixth-ranked Wellington-Napoleon. [Click to enlarge]

ALMA -- The Santa Fe girls' basketball team jumped out to an early lead and added to it steadily during the second half Tuesday, pulling away from Wellington-Napoleon for a 53-37 I-70 Conference home win.

Freshman Gia Baldwin scored eight first-half points as the Lady Chiefs took a six-point lead into the break. Junior Dani Heimsoth keyed a 14-8 third quarter with eight points.

Senior Kelsey Plumb had 13 points to top the Lady Tigers (3-15, 0-4 I-70), who yielded 18 offensive rebounds while taking a 44-30 beating on the boards.

Heimsoth finished with 16 points, Baldwin had 12 points and three steals and junior Molly Blomberg collected 11 rebounds for Santa Fe (7-10, 2-1).

The Lady Chiefs will hit the road Thursday for a league contest at Windsor.

Sweet Springs 52, Windsor 39

SWEET SPRINGS -- Sophomore Kristin Jones scored 10 points during Sweet Springs' 18-8 third-quarter spree Tuesday to beat visiting I-70 Conference foe Windsor, 52-49.

The host Lady Greyhounds led by only three points at halftime, but Jones made five shots during the third period and the team made six of 10 free throws during the fourth to secure the win.

Senior Megan Sheffield led all scorers with 24 points for Windsor (3-13, 0-3 I-70), which had no other players tally more than four points.

That wasn't the case for the balanced Sweet Springs' attack. Jones had 12 points, sophomore Rachel Thornton registered 10 points and senior Laura Keesaer and junior Stephanie Krause contributed eight each.

The Lady 'Hounds (14-6, 3-2) are off for a week before entertaining league-leading Crest Ridge. The unbeaten Lady Cougars are ranked fourth in this week's Class 2 poll.

Bunceton 28, Malta Bend 10

MALTA BEND -- The Malta Bend girls may have a lot of work to do on the offensive end, but they are capable of playing with energy on defense -- which they showed Tuesday during a 28-10 home loss to Bunceton, the second place club in the CCAA.

The Lady Dragons (11-8, 7-2 CCAA) led 6-0 after one period and by nine points at halftime, keeping the home team from making a charge -- especially since junior Jerrian "Flower" Johnson, the Lady Tigers' leading scorer, was sidelined with an ankle injury she sustained the previous night.

Freshman Kelsey Forqueran's four fourth-quarter points led Malta Bend (0-15, 0-7), which hosts Jamestown on Thursday.

Boys

Wellington 64, Santa Fe 46

ALMA -- One team was knocked from the ranks of the undefeated in the I-70 Conference boys' race Tuesday when No. 6 Wellington-Napoleon cruised to a 64-46 victory at Santa Fe.

The Tigers were in control most of the way, getting a combined 17 first-quarter points from sophomore Kent Hendrix and junior Brett Williams to take a 23-12 lead. By halftime, the margin was up to 18 points and the Chiefs were unable to make an appreciable dent into their deficit.

Hendrix wound up with 25 points and senior Cody Williams had 12 for Wellington (16-3, 4-0), which is tied for the league lead with Concordia following the Orioles' 62-32 rout of St. Paul.

Junior Taylor Wesley's 19 points topped Santa Fe (10-7, 22-1), which also got 10 points from junior Luke Brandt.

Sweet Springs 73, Windsor 72

SWEET SPRINGS -- Sophomore Zach Thomas' put-back at the buzzer decided a 73-72 contest in favor of host Sweet Springs during Tuesday's I-70 Conference clash with Windsor.

The visiting Greyhounds took a six-point edge into halftime, but sophomore Billy Martin spurred the Blue and Gold's comeback with 12 third-quarter points.

While Windsor made six of 11 free throws down the stretch, Martin connected for his eighth bomb -- and 29th point -- of the game to keep the 'Hounds within range.

Sophomore Corey Buford was tops among four players in double figures with 26 points for Windsor (5-14, 0-3 I-70).

Sophomore Nick Peeples had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds and Thomas had 10 points for Sweet Springs (7-12, 1-4), which ended a four-game conference skid.

Bunceton 63, Malta Bend 46

BUNCETON -- Bunceton used a 23-8 run during the second quarter to open up a 16-point halftime lead Tuesday at Malta Bend, going on to take a 63-46 CCAA victory.

Senior Blake Shrout scored nine of his 14 points during the second frame and junior Mason Cary came off the bench to ring up 10 of his team-high 16 points during the third period for the Dragons (15-4, 8-1 CCAA), who remain one game behind Pilot Grove in the league standings following the Tigers' 61-26 win over Otterville.

Sophomore Tim Trelow led all scorers with 19 points and junior Ryan Armstrong drained five three-pointers on his way to 17 point for the Tigers (5-10, 3-5) -- who remain in fourth place.