It’s a non-conference doubleheader Tuesday for the Mid-Prairie basketball teams when they travel to Benton Community to face the Bobcats. The Golden Hawk girls are 1-0 on the year after trouncing the Fairfield Trojans 59-42 on the road a week ago, behind 13 points, six assists and five steals from senior Amara Jones and 11 points and nine boards from senior Landry Pacha. The Hawks shot 33% from the floor, 27% from long range and 61% at the line with a staggering 49 rebounds to go with 13 steals, 10 assists and 11 turnovers.

Benton Community is 1-1 this season. The Bobcats are ranked No. 5 in Class 3A according to the initial poll of the season from the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. They own a 54-34 win over Davenport Assumption and dropped a top 10 battle to No. 8 Center Point-Urbana 27-22. The Bobcats are shooting 28% from the floor, 20% from three and 89% at the line on the early season averaging 28 rebounds, eight assists, eight steals, four blocks and 11 turnovers per game. Individual leaders include senior Jenna Twedt at 13 points, four assists and four steals per night. Piper Nelson has seven boards per game. These two teams last met in the playoffs in 2015 with Benton stealing a 49-48 win.

The Mid-Prairie boys start the new campaign tonight. The Hawks are coming off of a record breaking season that saw them finish 24-1 in the state quarterfinals a year ago. Mid-Prairie was 19-0, champions of the River Valley Conference for the first time since 2009, a state qualifier for the first time since 2010 and climbed as high as No. 2 in the Class 2A poll. They had their entire starting line-up, including Carter Harmsen, Jack Pennington, Ethan Kos, Will Cavanagh and Alex Bean named All-River Valley Conference with Harmsen second team All-State. Cavanagh, Pennington, Harmsen, Jones and Kos have all moved on through graduation. A season ago, they scored 64 points per game, giving up 33, shooting 48% from the floor, 34% from downtown and 62% at the line to go with 30 rebounds, 13 assists, nine steals and 10 turnovers per game. Leading returners include Alex Bean who averaged nine points per game as a junior with three rebounds, two assists and a steal. Shawn Dodds also comes back after two points and two boards per game and Cam Pickard who averaged three points, a rebound, an assist and a steal as a junior.

Benton was 5-17 a season ago, 5-13 in the WAMAC. They averaged 46 points per game, giving up 57, shooting 39% from the floor, 33% from long range, and 65% at the line with 23 boards, 11 assists, six steals and 16 turnovers per game. They will have to replace Aiden Harris who led them with 10 points and six boards per night last year. Returning are Evan and Blake Daugherty who averaged eight points each per night. This is the first ever meeting between the two schools. You can hear all of the action live between the Hawks and Bobcats on AM 1380, FM 102.5 and KCIIradio.com Tuesday, beginning with the Washington HyVee Pregame Show at 6p.m., tip of the girls game at 6:30 with the boys to follow.