Basketball Recap

January 10, 206
Article Credit: KCII/Conner Harbit
Hillcrest and Highland Each Dominate One Game in Doubleheader
It was a night of blowouts at Hillcrest Academy on Friday, as the Highland girls dominated the Ravens in their matchup, 52-20, only for the Hillcrest boys to take care of the Huskies, 72-34.

The Highland girls were seeking their 12th straight win, and any idea that the team’s winning streak would be broken on Friday quickly disappeared. The Huskies led 20-7 after the first quarter, and pulled out to a 34-14 halftime lead. For good measure, Highland would keep Hillcrest from scoring at all in the third quarter, before clearing the bench in the fourth to cruise to a 52-20 win.

Highland head coach Jody Fink explains the team’s mindset during this long winning streak, “Right now, we’re playing it one game at a time. And, the most important game, the hardest game we’re gonna play, is always going to be that next one. This is the hardest game we’re going to play, right now. And it’s the only one we gotta worry about, the only one we gotta focus on.”

Katelyn Thomann led the Huskies with 13. Mackenzie Davis added 12 on the bench, and Kamryn Fink had 10 despite leaving the game early with an injury. Highland improves to 12-1, Hillcrest Academy drops to 3-8.

The teams would flip the script for the boys game, with Hillcrest Academy doing the frontrunning. An onslaught of points gave the Ravens a 26-7 first quarter lead, a lead they’d extend to 45-18 by the halftime break. While Highland settled down a little bit in the second half, it wouldn’t nearly be enough, as Hillcrest would be able to give everyone minutes in a 72-34 win.

Hillcrest head coach Stephen Bender says his team put forth an impressive effort, but they’re not quite yet where they need to be, “We’re really trying to get four quarters of solid basketball. Three pretty good ones tonight, I feel like we could’ve improved the defense in the third quarter, but not a lot of complaints.”

Kale Bailey led the Ravens with 16, with Gibson Scott adding 15. Lincoln Miller hit four three-pointers to give himself 14 for the night, and Rowan Miller put forth 12 first half points. Highland was led by Landon Roling and Bryce Hazelett, who each had 12. Hillcrest remains undefeated for the season at 10-0, Highland falls to 2-9.

January 12, 2026
Article & Photo Credit: The News/Paul D. Bowker
Keota boys halt Hillcrest Academy’s win streak at 10
For one long Saturday night in Keota, Hillcrest Academy’s season-starting 10-game winning streak crashed to a halt in a 59-44 loss.

The reasons were numbing.

The Ravens played their second game in less than 24 hours.

Gibson Scott, a sophomore who had scored 15 points the night before against Highland, fouled out in the fourth quarter after scoring just 4.

Angel Satulle Sambrano, a senior, was back in the lineup after missing a game. Lincoln Miller, another senior, “was not himself,” head coach Stephen Bender said.

And Keota’s Chase Haifley, a 10.1 points-per-game scorer with a .262 shooting percentage, hit for a season-high 20 points, including a homecourt logo 3-pointer as the shot clock was winding down at a key point in the final quarter.

“That was ridiculous,” Hillcrest junior forward Kale Bailey said.

The Ravens (10-1) trailed by just one point, 25-24, at halftime, but a strong shooting display by Keota’s Haifley and Porter Cave (15 points, 2 3-pointers) in the second half sent the Eagles (7-3) to their fourth consecutive win.

“Even despite all of that,” Bender said, “we had our chances. We missed a lot of layups that we’ve been making. It was a physical game. When you’re tired in back-to-back nights, some of those shots that you normally make, they just don’t quite fall.”

Hillcrest trailed by just four points, 39-35, early in the fourth quarter when Cave hit three straight shots for seven points, the last one resulting in a game-ending foul for Scott with 5:57 left and Keota up, 46-37.

More than two minutes later, Haifley’s long 3-pointer put the Eagles ahead, 49-41. Keota hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter alone.

“That is just lights out,” Bailey said. “They just had a night.”

The Ravens host Columbus (6-4) on Tuesday, then play Friday night at Winfield-Mt. Union (8-2) in a showdown for the Southeast Iowa Super Conference North title.

Hillcrest 72, Highland 34

Hillcrest junior forward Kale Bailey scored a game-high 16 points, and Gibson Scott added 15 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists in the Raven’s 72-34 win Friday against Highland.

Four Hillcrest starters reached double figures in scoring as the Ravens defeated the Huskies for the 12th straight time.

Lincoln Miller added 14 points for Hillcrest and Rowan Miller had 12 points and 6 assists.

Landon Roling led Highland (2-9) with 12 points. Jacob Schneider had a team-high 7 rebounds.

Hillcrest outscored Highland 26-7 in the opening quarter and cruised from there. The Ravens held Highland to two points in the fourth quarter. They won the rebounding battle, 33-23.

GAME STATS

KEOTA 59, HILLCREST 44

Hillcrest  17   7   10  10  — 44

Keota      12  13  14  20  — 59

Hillcrest scoring: Rowan Miller 18, Kale Bailey 11, Lincoln Miller 6, Gibson Scott 4, Angel Satulle Sambrano 3, Isaac Birky 2.

Keota scoring: Chase Haifley 20, Porter Cave 15, Jackson Vittetoe 14, Brennan McGuire 6, Blake Baker 4.