One trip, two wins for the Hillcrest Academy Raven basketball teams as they visited Winfield-Mt. Union Tuesday for a boy/girl hoops doubleheader. The girls game featured a Hillcrest comeback for a 62-56 overtime win. The Lady Wolves had the better of things early, using a 20-2 run that spanned most of the first half, to build a 31-17 lead at the break. The advantage would swell to 19 points early in the third quarter, before Hillcrest made their move. The Ravens got red-hot from downtown, hitting seven consecutive team threes, and using an 11-0 third quarter burst to get back in the contest. Neither teams final chance in the last 45 seconds of regulation would fall sending action to overtime where the Hillcrest momentum continued. The Ravens used a 13-2 run that spanned the end of the fourth and the extra frame to take the win. Postgame, Hillcrest senior Malia Yoder talked with KCII Sports about the win.
Yoder said, “(In the second half) we started making more hustle plays. We were playing better defense. That leads to better offense to. I’m so proud of how this team fought back. This win feels great!”
Yoder finished with 20 points, six rebounds and three assists. Claire Withrow had 20 points, including five second half threes. Niva Helmuth went double double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Each team had 34 boards and Hillcrest won turnovers 35-23, including 20-6 after half. WMU was led by a massive 21 point 13 rebound double double for Kynlee Buffington. Madisen Kellogg had 18 points for the Lady Wolves. The Ravens are now 3-2 overall this year, 1-2 in conference. The Wolves stand at 2-4 on the year and 1-3 in league play.
In the nightcap, the Hillcrest boys put together an impressive 61-37 winning performance. The Ravens led 18-12 after one period and 33-21 at half, using a 13-2 run to open things up. After an even third quarter, Hillcrest had a 12-2 sprint to start the fourth that put the game out of reach. After the victory, Raven seniors Bryce Bailey and Mason Bender spoke with KCII sports about the win.
Bender said, “We got a few defensive stops, they made some mistakes and we capitalized on that. They were super-physical and in the second half we did a better job of keeping them off the glass. (When we’re on the floor) we play with a sense of urgency. Things needs to get done. We don’t wait back for things to happen. We’re on our toes making plays. We’re a really selfless team. We all want the team to succeed and that means giving up a good look, for a better look.”
Bailey continued, “The whole time that we have been (at Hillcrest) we haven’t gotten the best of (Winfield-Mt. Union) yet. No one backed down tonight, one through five. We’re all just having fun. In the first half, I had a couple threes to start off and then in the second half it was just layups. That’s a big part of the team moving the ball so well.”
Hillcrest won the turnover battle 20-9, won the glass by three, and had 20 team assists. A trio got to double figures for the Ravens, led by 18 points for Bailey, 14 for Seth Ours and 12 for Bender. Cooper Buffington led the Wolves with 10 points and six boards. The Ravens are now 4-0 overall and 3-0 in conference while WMU falls to 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the league.