Hillcrest and Lone Tree will play their final games before the SEISC Shootout later this week, in a doubleheader you can hear on KCII.

The Hillcrest girls are 6-13 and 3-12 in the SEISC-North, good for eighth place in the conference. The Ravens have done a bit more winning as of late, however, going 3-3 in their last six, including conference wins over WACO and Winfield-Mt. Union. A large part of that has been Claire Withrow. In Hillcrest’s last three wins, the senior has scored 15, 30, and 24 points, leading the Ravens each time. Senior post Niva Helmuth has also been key, dominating the boards and giving Hillcrest a multifaceted approach on their side of the floor.

Meanwhile, the Lone Tree girls have been one of the top teams in the SEISC-North all season long. The Lions are 13-6, and 11-4 in conference. Lone Tree is on a three-game winning streak heading into tonight’s matchup, with wins over Louisa-Muscatine, Pekin, and WACO. They’ve locked themselves into second place in the conference, having beaten the third-place Falcons of L-M twice this season. The Lions’ leading scorer continues to be Finley Jacque, who is now averaging just below 20 points a game at 19.3 for the season.

Earlier this season, Lone Tree defeated Hillcrest 56-48 behind Ava Christofferson’s 21 points. Jacque had 19. The Ravens were led by Withrow, who had 17.

On the boys side, Hillcrest Academy will come into tonight as the heavy favorites at 16-2, and 14-1 in the SEISC-North. The Ravens are no longer undefeated in conference, having lost to Pekin last week, but have still outscored their opponents by an average of 20 points this season. Hillcrest is led by a trio of scorers, Kale Bailey, Rowan Miller, and Gibson Scott, with Bailey leading the way at 17.4 points per game while Miller and Scott add around 13 or 14 a night.

Lone Tree will be looking to win, especially as they sit in a three-way tie for seventh place in conference. The Lions are 4-13, 2-12 in conference, and have dropped three straight, coming off of a dramatic 67-66 loss to Louisa-Muscatine late last week. Lone Tree hasn’t struggled for points this season, but have had issues putting together a full four quarters, often letting one quarter get away. Reece Holbrook and Domonic Garcia are the Lions’ primary scorers, scoring 12.1 and 11.6 points a game, respectively.

Back in early January, the Ravens defeated the Lions 79-53. Bailey, Miller, and Scott all reached double digits as the team set its season high, a mark that still stands late in the season. Lone Tree was led by Cade Willoz, who finished with 15.

Tonight’s doubleheader can be heard on FM106.1, the KCII1 app, and kciiradio.com. Pregame starts at 5:30 p.m, with tip off of the girls’ contest at 6:00 p.m.