A pair of Southeast Iowa Superconference foes look to start the new year 1-0 as the Highland Huskies host the Columbus Wildcats in the KCII Area Game of the Week. This boy/girl doubleheader goes down tonight on the KCII3 Stream.
Highland girls basketball comes out of the break at 8-3, winning their last competition 49-34 over Winfield-Mt. Union. The Huskies have limited opponents to 33 points per game thanks to 333 defensive rebounds, the most in 1A basketball by 56. Senior forward Sarah Burton owns the glass individually, pulling down 154 through the first half of the season. Burton is also third in blocks, and top ten in free throw attempts and makes. The senior-led Huskies have seen additional production on both ends from Kerra Longbine, Kylie Allen, Stella Slaymaker, and Kelsi Cerny. A win this evening would put Highland one game out of the top spot in the Superconference North.
They welcome the current conference pace-setters in 9-1 Columbus. The Wildcats have already won more games before Christmas than they did in any season since 2016. Much of that success stems from an equally comparable defense which leads 2A with 176 steals. Their 36 points allowed per game is complemented by more than 50 per night offensively. Lily Coil and Ariana Vergara have reaped the benefits of a stout Columbus defense. Each has more than 150 points, many of those coming in transition. No 2A team gets more offensive rebounds than the Wildcats, helping them put up nearly 70 shots per game. These two opponents split the series in 2023. Highland has won 12 of the last 13, with the last Columbus win nearly one year ago to the day.
The boys contest features a couple of one-win teams with goals to shift the course of their respective seasons. Highland took down English Valleys with a tight 49-46 final right before break. Spreading the ball was the key to victory, with five different Huskies recording seven or more points. This included usual suspects Nicolas Oriano and Logan McFarland, who can both eclipse the 50-point mark with a couple of baskets tonight. Highland looks to improve on its 27 points per game, and tighten up a defense allowing 60. The Huskies are also averaging 24 rebounds, two assists, four steals, two blocks, and 25 turnovers per night.
Columbus, meanwhile, dropped its last two after picking up a 60-47 win over Wapello. Scoring nearly 44 points per game, offense has come a little easier for the Wildcats thanks to brothers Tim and Ellis Hills-Carrier. The two, along with sophomore Gabriel Zuniga, have accounted for 70 percent of the team’s points through the first eight games. Tim Hills-Carrier, one of just two seniors for Columbus also leads the way in rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks.On the defensive side of the ball, the Wildcats have allowed nearly 70 points per game, they otherwise hold an edge over Highland in most statistical categories. While the Huskies hold the overall advantage in the series, Columbus has won four of the last five including a season sweep last year.
Celebrate the new year of high school basketball by tuning into the KCII3 Stream, available on KCIIradio.com. The Area Game of the Week Pregame Show starts at 5:30 p.m. followed by the girls’ tip at 6, then the boys live from Riverside.