The Indianola basketball teams swept Carlisle in a non-conference doubleheader Monday evening on the road, the girls winning a top-10 ranked matchup 48-44, and the boys winning in a blowout 67-19 in a doubleheader heard live on 94.3 KNIA.

The #9 Indians girls needed to slow the game down against #8 Carlisle early on to stave off the powerful Wildcats offense, and the Indians did just that after turning the ball over early, trailing 15-14 after the first, then holding Carlisle to just six second quarter points to lead 23-21 at half, with Zoe Belt carrying the offense with 11 points. The defense continued to play well in the second half as Carlisle ran into foul trouble, holding the Wildcats to just seven third quarter points as the Indians built a lead as high as just six, and held on in the fourth and hit just enough free throws down the stretch to win it. Head coach Jeff Janssen tells KNIA Sports the Indians did a good job recovering from a sloppy start to buckle down defensively.

“We turned the ball over too much early, but we stuck with it. We stayed the course and righted the ship defensively to take a two-point lead at half. And what an exciting second half. That was a playoff type atmosphere, and credit to both teams for making plays but luckily enough we made enough plays to get the W tonight.”

Emily Naughton led all scorers with 20, while Belt had 15.

The #6 Indians boys dominated from the start, beginning the game with a 9-0 run and not looking back, leading 25-6 after the first and 44-11 at the half, before getting to running clock in the third and coasting to the win. Nine Indianola players scored in the first half, and Brayden Drea ended the game with 15 points to lead all scorers.

The Indians girls are now 4-2, the boys are now 6-0, and both teams won’t hit the court again until 2023.