The Hillcrest Academy Raven boys and girls basketball teams took both ends of a Tuesday twinbill from Winfield-Mt. Union at Dwight Gingerich Court at Hillcrest Union.

The Raven girls opened the night with a 51-47 victory. It was a 13-12 lead for the visitors after one, and Hillcrest see-sawed on top 26-24 at half, thanks to a 10-0 second quarter run. The Ravens held a 36-34 lead after three and put together a pair of 6-0 final frame runs to hold on for the win. Following the contest, Raven seniors Claire Withrow and Niva Helmuth talked with KCII Sports about the win.

Helmuth said, “(To be a good rebounder), you have to work to get the box-out and work to pull down the rebound. My teammates were finding me tonight when I was open. At times when the game is physical it can be hard. It can be a grind, but, it’s really rewarding when you come out on top like we did tonight.”

Withrow continued, “My team worked really hard to get me open, setting screens and moving the ball. Also them working hard and scoring points helped draw the defense toward them. (Defensively in the post), it’s about standing straight up and trying not to lean over and foul. We work hard defensively on moving our feet and that helped later in the game tonight.”

Hillcrest won the boards by seven, the Wolves took turnovers 24-17. Helmuth led the Ravens with a 16 point, 14 rebound double double, Brynna Boshart had 12 points and six steals. Madisen Kellogg’s 19 points led the Lady Wolves and Suttyn Schlee added 12, 11 after half. The win was the first of the conference season for Hillcrest who is now 3-2 overall. WMU remains winless in league play and at 1-4 overall.

The boys contest featured a battle of unbeaten Superconference teams in the early season with Hillcrest handing WMU a 53-40 loss. It was the Wolves up early, 11-10 after one, and things were still tight at half with the Ravens on top 24-22. The key stretch of the contest was a 15-2 Raven run to start the second half. Hillcrest would push the lead to as many as 17 and they were not threatened down the stretch. One of the catalysts in the Raven win, senior Lincoln Miller joined the KCII Postgame Show to talk about the victory.

Miller said, “We forced them into turnovers, especially in the second half. (Our third quarter run) was because we came together. Our defense was locked in. We made some shots and kept the intensity up. That was big. Our offense came down to moving the ball against the zone. We did an amazing job of that. If you’re on the wing, you have to be ready for the passes and put it up there!”

The Ravens won the glass 36-28, WMU took turnovers 18-16. Hillcrest had three in double figures with Miller, Kale Bailey and Gibson Scott each scoring 12. Collin Anderson led the Wolves with a game high 14 points. The Ravens are now 3-0 as the Wolves drop to 2-1.