On Friday, both the Woodward Academy War Eagles girls and boys basketball teams were on the road to face off against the Forest Park Panthers in key region match ups for all four teams. On the girls side, both the War Eagles and the Panthers headed into the game as the only two teams with no region losses and on the boys side, each team had one region loss.
The girls would take the court first and Woodward would come out the gate on fire as they opened up with an early 7-0 lead and eventually would close out the opening period up 17-9. The Panthers would charge back in the second quarter as they would outscore the War Eagles 22-10 in the period and take a 31-27 lead into the locker room at the half.
The second half, the game would remain close between the two as there would be several lead changes throughout the final two periods. But late in the fourth with the War Eagles up 46-45, a three point basket by Kai Lanier would give Woodward a four point edge which they would give them just enough cushion to close out the game with the 55-51 win. The win moves Woodward into first place in their region standings now a game ahead of Forest Park. The War Eagles' Sydney Bowles finished with 18 points, six rebounds and four steals, while Forest Parks' Sania Feagin finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
On the boys side, both teams entered the night with just one loss in the region standings and sat a game behind region leader, Tri Cities, who defeated both the Panthers and the War Eagles. Opposite of the girls game, Forest Park would come out hot in the first quarter taking an early 14-8 lead in the first quarter.
Woodward Academy's Will RichardDaminon Lewis
However, in the second quarter, Woodward's Will Richard would start to gain momentum as he would help the War Eagles go on a run to take a 29-21 lead midway through the period. The Panthers would battle back and only trail by one, 31-30 at halftime, but Woodward would go on to close out the game with a 62-57 win. With the win, the War Eagles take sole possession of second place in the region standings and sit a game behind Tri Cities, who they will face on Saturday and look to avoid the series sweep.
