Photos Courtesy of Hillcrest Academy Yearbook
The Hillcrest Academy Raven boys and girls basketball teams honored their seniors during a Southeast Iowa Superconference doubleheader with Louisa-Muscatine.
The Raven boys ran away in the second half for a 79-43 win. Hillcrest was up 18-17 after the first and 30-27 at half. The Raven run started right out of the locker room and they didn’t let up until the final horn. Hillcrest outscored L-M 49-16 in total in the second, 26-8 in the third and 23-8 in the fourth to finish the win. The Ravens out shot the Falcons 48-34% with seven made threes. Hillcrest won the glass 39-37, assists 27-13, steals 16-8 and turnovers 27-14. Four Ravens found double figures led by Rowan Millers 20 point, 10 assist double double. Gibson Scott had 17 points with seven steals, Kale Bailey added 17 points and Isaac Birky 10 points. Head coach Stephen Bender talked with KCII Sports about his senior class. “It’s fun to see how far they have come from freshman year until now. Seeing how much success they’re having this year. Winning the conference outright is a pretty big accomplishment, especially after doing it last year and the seniors that we lost from that team. A lot of people didn’t think we were going to be nearly as good again this year. These guys have really bought in and it takes good leaders. They play hard. They’re good kids!”
Oscar Cline led the Falcons with a 16 point, 15 rebound double double as they dropped to 3-14. The win moved the Ravens to 15-2 on the year and 14-1 in conference, clinching a share of the Superconference North Division title in back-to-back years for the first time in 15 seasons.
The Raven girls came up short against L-M 68-38. The Falcons took control with a 19-9 first quarter, and led 28-20 at half. L-M outscored the Ravens 40-18 after half including a 13-2 run in the final frame to close the win. The Falcons out shot the Ravens 33-29%. Hillcrest won the glass 37-34. L-M took assists 10-7, steals 23-2 and turnovers 31-8. Taylor Morrison had a 12 point 16 rebound double double for the Falcons who were led in scoring by 24 points from Grace Kissell and 23 for Hannah Kissell. Claire Withrow scored 14 for Hillcrest and Niva Helmuth chipped in 10 points with nine boards. Head coach Chris Nachtigal spoke with KCII Sports about his senior class. “Their freshman year, they didn’t win any games. Then sophomore year they won six, junior year 11. They’re trying to build something back up. Five years ago, we didn’t have a program. I look back and this is something to be proud of. Probably the best three year stretch back to 2012-15. Pretty significant accomplishment for them!”
The Falcons moved to 12-6 with the win, while the Ravens fall to 5-13. In two ceremonies on the night, the Ravens honored seniors Stavia Miller, Claire Withrow, Maria Portillo, Tara Poole, Niva Helmuth, Angel Sambrano, Rowan Miller, Isaac Birky, Kayden Estell and Lincoln Miller.