KALONA

At home on Alumni Night, the Ravens went to work against fellow Southeast Iowa Super Conference member, the WACO Warriors, on Dec. 15. 

Despite Hillcrest showing great fight and resilience, the WACO defense stepped up in the second half to defeat the Ravens, 44-38. 

With this loss Hillcrest fell to 0-7 in conference play and extended its losing streak to five in a row. For the Warriors they improved their conference record to 4-2, now winners of back-to-back games. w

Hillcrest began this game in impressive fashion, taking a 14-2 lead, but the Warriors responded in kind. WACO was able to outscore the Ravens in the second frame, leading to a halftime score of 23-23. 

The Warriors quickly took the lead in the third quarter, a lead they would never relinquish. 

Despite the WACO defense having a strong showing in the second half, holding Hillcrest to single digits in both quarters, Hillcrest junior Malia Yoder scored nine of her team leading 13 points in the second half. 

Yoder also led the team with four assists and grabbed seven rebounds, tying for the most on the team along with sophomore Niva Helmuth. 

Sophomore Claire Withrow also reached double digit scoring for the Ravens, ending the night with 10 points. Withrow has scored in the double figures in eight games this season.

Pekin 54, Hillcrest 39

Competing in their second consecutive road conference game, the Ravens fell to the Pekin Panthers on Dec. 12. 

This defeat keeps Hillcrest winless against Southeast Iowa Super Conference opponents this season, with a 0-6 record in conference play. The Ravens last conference victory came in 2020. 

Hillcrest’s last win over Pekin came in 2010, with the Panthers now having won 24 straight against the Ravens.  

A strong first half kept the Ravens in the game at the half, only trailing by four, but single digit scoring in the last two quarters was not enough for Hillcrest to mount a successful comeback. 

Pekin scored its season high in this win and they were led by sophomore Anna Hadley. Hadley recorded a double-double with team highs of 16 points and 15 rebounds. On the year, Hadley has the third most rebounds (81) among sophomores in Class 1A. 

Senior Alex Parsons and sophomore Chloe Glosser both added 12 to tie for Pekin’s highest scorer on the night. 

Both Malia Yoder and Claire Withrow scored 10 to tie as Hillcrest’s leading scorer. Yoder ended the night with six steals. Delaney Shaw also had six steals. Shaw and Niva Helmuth both lead the Ravens with 12 rebounds each. 

The Ravens went on the road and battled the Wapello Arrows on Dec. 19. Up next for Hillcrest (2-7) will be a home game against the Cedar Valley Christian Huskies (0-7) on Dec. 21.