DES MOINES -- A 25-9 first-quarter burst paved the way for another double-digit Spartan victory December 23 as the Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton girls defeated Nodaway Valley 72-49 at Wells Fargo Arena. Freshman Tatum Grubbs (18 points) and seniors Kealey Nelson (18) and Sophia Peppers (17) combined for 53 points as the fourth-ranked Spartans entered Christmas break with a perfect record of 7-0.

 DES MOINES -- Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton put up 50 first-half points on the Wells Fargo Arena floor and posted a 79-53 boys basketball win vs. Nodaway Valley on December 23. The Spartans stormed out to a 27-11 lead after the first quarter and extended the margin to 50-26 at halftime, improving to 3-4 overall. “We played our best basketball of the season in the first half,” said E-EHK head coach Doug Newton.

Exira-EHK Girls & Boys Results/ScheduleDec. 1    vs. Coon Rapids-Bayard - Girls won 67-32; Boys won 66-51Dec. 5    at Glidden-Ralston - Girls won 60-31; Boys lost 58-55Dec. 8    vs. Ar-We-Va - Girls won 78-44; Boys lost 63-60Dec. 12    at West Harrison - Girls won 72-35; Boys won 87-31Dec. 15    vs. CAM, Anita - Girls won 63-53; Boys lost 57-53Dec. 19    at Paton-Churdan - Girls won 82-40; Boys lost 53-50Dec. 23    vs.

 GRISWOLD (Dec. 19) -- AHSTW’s 23 steals matched Griswold’s total field goal attempts last Tuesday as the Viking boys basketball team extended its winning streak to five games with a 60-25 rout of the Tigers. Jake Martin led three AHSTW seniors in double figures with 17 points, shooting 8-for-8 from the field, R.J. Harris scored 13 points and Jack Paulson had 12.

 CHURDAN (Dec. 19) -- Close losses continue to haunt the Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton boys basketball team as the season calendar flips from December to January. On Tuesday night, the Spartans led the entire game until the last 22 seconds in a frustrating 53-50 defeat at Paton-Churdan.

 CHURDAN (Dec. 19) -- Kealey Nelson pumped in a career-high 29 points while adding nine rebounds and seven steals last Tuesday night, leading the fifth-ranked Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton girls to an easy 82-40 win at Paton-Churdan. Nelson made 12-of-22 field goals and 5-of-6 free throws as the Spartans improved to 6-0 (all Rolling Valley Conference games) going into Saturday’s contest vs.

 GRISWOLD (Dec.

IKM-M Girls & Boys Results/ScheduleNovember 28    vs. Audubon - Girls won 58-19; Boys won 59-53December 1    at AHSTW - Girls won 61-41; Boys lost 58-48December 2    vs. Panorama - Girls lost 50-45; Boys won 54-51December 5    at Logan-Magnolia - Girls lost 58-48; Boys won 57-51December 8    vs. Missouri Valley - Girls won 58-35; Boys won 56-33December 12    at Riverside (Girl-Boy DH) - PostponedDecember 15    vs.

AHSTW Girls & Boys Results/ScheduleNovember 27    at CAM - Girls lost 46-27November 28    at Treynor - Girls lost 60-33; Boys lost 61-55December 1    vs. IKM-Manning - Girls lost 61-41; Boys won 58-48December 5    at Tri-Center - Girls won 58-41; Boys lost 61-43December 7    at Shenandoah - Boys won 74-27December 8    vs.

 HARLAN (Dec.

 HARLAN (Dec. 19) -- It was a special night for Harlan Community basketball coach Mitch Osborn on Tuesday.

 HARLAN (Dec. 19) -- For the second straight year, the Harlan Community girls basketball team will take a 2-4 record into the holidays. The Cyclones led for just a few brief moments against Abraham Lincoln Tuesday night, plagued by turnovers and missed shots in a 48-40 home loss to the senior-laden Lynx. Last year, Hope Riche hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to lift AL past Harlan 58-57 in a game the Cyclones led by 12 in the third quarter.

 AVOCA (Dec. 19) -- The AHSTW wrestling team entered the holiday break on a good note and gave head coach Evan McCarthy his 100th career win Tuesday night with a double dual sweep against Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln and Tri-Center. The Vikings beat AL 45-36 and topped Tri-Center 42-25.

 NEOLA (Dec. 19) -- The IKM-Manning girls used a 23-3 second quarter run to pull away early and beat Tri-Center 66-18 on Tuesday night, improving to 4-3 overall and 4-2 in the Western Iowa Conference. The Wolves hit 11-of-21 three-pointers in the game, including 5-of-9 by Kia Rasmussen and 4-of-6 by Shauna Reitan.

 NEOLA (Dec. 19) -- Tri-Center outscored IKM-Manning 13-2 in the fourth quarter to finish off the Wolves 55-39 in a Western Iowa Conference boys basketball game here Tuesday night. IKM-M led 18-10 after one quarter but was outscored 45-21 the rest of the night.