Waterloo’s Kathryn Finnerty shoots against Columbia on Tuesday night. (Alan Dooley photo)

The Monroe County high school basketball rivalry between Columbia and Waterloo was showcased during the annual “Pack the Place” event Tuesday night at Waterloo High School, with the girls teams squaring off prior to the boys hoops contest. This year’s result was a split decision.

With a large crowd of orange and black on one side and blue and white on the other, the Waterloo girls continued their mastery of the Eagles in a 55-37 victory. The Bulldogs have now defeated Columbia three straight times, including earlier this season in a Candy Cane Classic semifinal showdown at Gibault.

Kathryn Finnerty led the way for Waterloo with 15 points, with Taylor Augustine adding 14. Columbia’s top scorers were Kalli Farmer with 13 points and Claire Long with 10.

The ‘Dogs held a slim 12-11 advantage after one quarter, but began to build momentum in the second, taking a 25-14 edge at halftime. Waterloo continued the pressure in the second half en route to victory.

The Columbia boys turned the tables on their cross-county rivals in the nightcap, taking down the Bulldogs 71-54 to improve to 13-1 on the season. The Eagles previously downed the ‘Dogs during the recent holiday tournament at Columbia High School.

Columbia took a 17-13 lead in the opening quarter, and Waterloo’s chances took a huge hit when its leading scorer, Ben Huels, left the game with an ankle injury. He would not return.

Still, the Bulldogs battled and kept the game close in the first half, trailing 35-29 at halftime.

 Columbia’s Holmes brothers — Jonny and Jordan — proved too much to handle in the end, dominating the scoring for the Eagles on this night. Jonny Holmes scored 29 points while younger brother Jordan added 14 more.

Waterloo was led by Dylan Hunt with 17 points. Griffin Lenhardt added 13.