Photos Courtesy of Hillcrest Academy Yearbook
Friday was a big night for Hillcrest Academy Raven basketball as the boys and girls each scored road wins at Winfield-Mt. Union in Southeast Iowa Superconference play. The Raven girls opened the night as comeback winners 43-40 over the Lady Wolves. WMU opened the game on top 13-5 after one, and still led 23-16 at half. The Ravens continued to chip away, down 33-28 going to the fourth. Hillcrest continued on the comeback trail in the final eight minutes, outscoring the Wolves 15-7 in the last frame, and surviving a wild final minute to secure the win. Raven head coach Chris Nachtigal spoke with KCII Sports about what the win means for his group. “I thought our defensive effort in the second half, both full-court and half-court, really turned the tide for us. We boxed out better. We took care of the basketball. Down the stretch, I thought we were very composed. It was perfect. Our kids all know it, but, you know, it doesn’t matter. We found a way. I especially loved our grit late. It’s easy when you’ve gone through some of the games that we’ve gone through to just give up and our girls didn’t. They really fought. I saw a lot of determination, which is really fun to see!”
WMU out shot Hillcrest 28-25% and won assists 11-7, steals 21-17 and turnovers 31-25. The Ravens won the glass 40-39. Niva Helmuth posted a double double for Hillcrest with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Claire Withrow scored a game high 15 points. Suttyn Schlee led the Wolves with 14 points, Madisen Kellogg had 13 and Quin Smith grabbed 14 boards. The win snaps an eight game Raven skid and sends them to 4-10 on the year and 2-9 in conference. WMU stays winless in league play through 12 games and 1-14 overall.
With a share of the lead in the North Division of the Superconference on the line, the Raven boys scored a key 62-42 road win. WMU led 10-7 after one, but Hillcrest pulled away in the middle frames, winning the second 16-10 to take a 23-20 advantage into half, before sprinting out of the locker room on a 25-7 run that spanned the full third quarter to go up 48-27 after three. The Ravens shot a blistering 63% from the floor to 32% for WMU, they also won assists 22-9 and turnovers 19-14. The Wolves won the glass 30-20 and steals 10-8. Raven sniper Lincoln Miller led the way with 17 points on five threes. Kale Bailey also finished with 17. Gibson Scott had 15 points. Rowan Miller dished out 10 assists with five rebounds. Max Edwards led the Wolves with 11 points. The win was the 200th in the head coaching career of Stephen Bender. He spoke with KCII Sports about the importance of the victory for his team, how they did it, and what the milestone means to him. “We started really moving the ball better (after the first quarter) and took care of it more. We got the ball inside. Lincoln Miller had a huge game for us. Kale (Bailey) had a big game for us. This felt like a huge step for us. (200) is one of those numbers where I didn’t think I was going to hit it because I thought I was done being a head coach. It’s been a great year! The kids have really bought into everything and to get 200 wins is a nice accomplishment, but you have to give credit where it’s due. First of all, my wife allowing me to do this and her support at home, and my kids. On top of that, all the players. They’re the ones that go out and do the work. Of course, I have had a lot of great assistants over the years. I really value my assistant coaches and want them to know that.”
Hillcrest remains on top of the Superconference North alone at 11-0, 12-1 overall while the Wolves fall to 9-4 on the season and 9-2 in conference play.