Senior Night Spark Ignites Ravens’ Dominant Weekend
January 30, 2026
Ravens Get Senior Night Split With L-M; Boys Clinch Division Title
Article Credit: Zach Ulin/KCII
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.
Ravens shine on senior night with conference win over Falcons
Article Credit: Giovanni Coronel/ The News
Responding to their first loss in conference play with a resounding win, Hillcrest boys basketball (15-2, 14-1) shined on senior night with a 79-43 victory over Louisa-Muscatine (3-14, 2-12) last Friday.
The visiting Falcons kept up in the first half, only trailing by three once half time came around, but the Ravens went full throttle on offense and locked down on defense in the second half.
Hillcrest limited the Falcons to eight points in the third and eight more in the fourth and on offense the Ravens soared with a 26 point third quarter and added 23 more in the final frame.
Hillcrest took the win by 36 points and completed the sweep over the Falcons. The Ravens lead the all-time series at 29-5 with L-M’s last win over Hillcrest coming in 2023.
Securing a double double was Hillcrest senior Rowan Miller who led all scorers with 20 and dished out a team high 10 assists. Other double digit scorers for the Ravens were sophomore Gibson Scott (17), junior Kale Bailey (17), and senior Isaac Birky (10).
Before the game Hillcrest honored its senior class of Rowan Miller, Birky, Angel Satulle Sambrano, Kayden Estell, and Lincoln Miller.
Hillcrest 69, HLV/TV 28
One day removed from senior night, the Ravens (16-2) went on the road and collected a commanding non-conference win over HLV/TC (4-13) last Saturday.
A dominant effort for the Ravens who scored 19 or more points in every quarter save forathe final frame. The Hillcrest defense was just as potent as they limited the Warriors to under nine or less points in all but the first quarter.
Hillcrest junior Kale Bailey went for 20 to lead all scorers and teammates senior Rowan Miller (15), sophomore Gibson Scott (12), and senior Angel Satulle Sambrano (11) also scored in the double digits.
Miller tallied a second consecutive double double by finishing with a team high 10 assists. He also led the team in steals (7).
Pekin 54, Hillcrest 42
Suffering their first loss in conference play, the Ravens (14-2, SEISC 13-1) fell on the road against Pekin (14-3, 10-3) on Jan. 27.
Through two quarters of play the Panthers held a five point advantage. A close game for Hillcrest turned into a double digit deficit in the third as Pekin scored 12 while also limiting the Ravens to just five points.
With only the fourth left to play Hillcrest was not able to rally as both teams matched each other with 14 points each. This loss broke a four game winning streak for the Ravens and for Pekin this was its eighth straight win.
Pekin senior Cole Millikin led all scorers with 19.
Hillcrest was led by junior Kale Bailey who scored a team high 15 points. Other Ravens to score in the double digits were senior Rowan Miller (11) and sophomore Gibson Scott (10).
Up next for Hillcrest (16-2) a road non-confence game against No. 9 Pella Christian (10-6) on Feb. 9.
GAME STATS
LOUISA-MUSC. 43, HILLCREST 79
Louisa-Musc. 17 10 8 8 — 43
Hillcrest 18 12 26 13 — 79
Hillcrest leading scorers: Rowan Miller 20, Gibson Scott 17, Kale Bailey 17
Hillcrest leading rebounders: Rowan Miller 6, Kayden Estell 6, Lincoln Miller 6
HILLCREST 69, HLV/TC 28
Hillcrest 19 22 19 9 — 69
HLV/TC 10 9 3 3 — 28
Hillcrest leading scorers: Kale Bailey 20, Rowan Miller 15, Gibson Scott 12
Hillcrest leading rebounders: Kayden Estell 6, Gibson Scott 5, Kale Bailey 5
HILLCREST 42, PEKIN 54
Hillcrest 13 10 5 14 — 42
Pekin 11 17 12 14 — 54
Hillcrest leading scorers: Kale Bailey 15, Rowan Miller 11, Gibson Scott 10
Hillcrest leading rebounders: Scott 8, Bailey 6, Miller 4
January 31, 2026
Ravens Roll in Sweep at HLV
Article Credit: Zach Ulin/KCII
The Hillcrest Academy Raven boys and girls basketball teams made it a sweep of HLV on Saturday. The Raven boys got the job done 69-28. Hillcrest was on top 19-10 after one and a 22-9 second quarter put them up 41-19 at the break. The Ravens outscored the Warriors 28-9 after half, including a 19-3 run during the third quarter to finish the win. The Ravens out shot the Warriors 53-21%. They won rebound 35-20, assists 20-3, steals 12-5 and turnovers 19-9. Rowan Miller had a double double with 15 points and 10 assists. Kale Bailey led with 20 points, Gibson Scott had a 12 point night, and Angel Sambrano had 11. The Ravens improve to 16-2 with the win as HLV drops to 4-13.
It was a Hillcrest girls win 53-34. The Ravens led 10-6 after one and were up 27-19 at half. A 19-7 Hillcrest third quarter gave them separation to finish the win. Hillcrest shot 36% from the floor and made eight threes. The Ravens pulled in 43 rebounds, had 12 assists and nine steals. Niva Helmuth went double double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Claire Withrow scored a game high 24 points. Hillcrest rose to 6-13 with the win as HLV dropped to 6-11.
