It’s been a tough road lately for the Wayland girls’ basketball team, so it was good to come back home and score an easy win.

The Lady Wildcats handled visiting Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills with relative ease Friday night in a 65-41 triumph that was blessed by balanced scoring.

They had fallen on hard times over the last couple of weeks with respectable losses to state-ranked rivals Grand Rapids Catholic Central and South Christian and even absorbed a shocking 61-58 defeat at Hastings.

Wayland ran out to a 31-17 advantage at intermission, with Sydney Ritz and Karli Warning both dropping in seven points and they finished off the Bengals early in the third quarter.

Hope Dollarhide came up with a three-point play and Ali Martus and Ali Cutler swished back-to back threes, followed shortly afterward by a three from Warning. At 49-23, the game had turned into a rout.

The highlight of the fourth period was a three-pointer from freshman Mari Biondo, who registered her first field goal after being invited to join the varsity to fill the gap left by senior guard McKenzy Kasper, who has been sidelined by concussions.

McKaylah Donwald led the balanced Wayland scoring attack with 14 points, Martus counted 13, Warning 11 and Cutler nine.

Ottawa Hills, a young team with only one senior on the roster, was led by a couple of sophomores, Shaina Figures with 14 points and Shalynn Ewing with 11.

The Lady Wildcats, now 7-6 overall and 2-3 in the O-K Gold Conference, will be at Middleville Thornapple Kellogg next Friday evening.

PHOTO: McKaylah Donewald led a balanced Wayland offenbsive attack with 14 points. (Photo courtesy of Kenny Ritz)