Before the next round of winter storms, Highland and Hillcrest Academy basketball met in Riverside Thursday night, with the Husky girls and Raven boys earning the split.
In a game heard on the KCII3 Stream, Highland staved off multiple comeback attempts from the Raven girls to prevail in the opener 47-38. While Sarah Burton had the game-high 22, something she’s made a habit of this season, the big offensive spark came from sophomore Mackenzie Davis. Davis, who had 30 points all season entering the night, owned the post and went for 14 off the bench. One of Highland’s best offensive outputs of the season was matched by a defense that forced 25 Hillcrest turnovers. The Huskies led by 12 at the half, and by as many as 16 throughout the contest, but the Ravens wouldn’t go away. Malia Yoder and Claire Withrow each scored 17 Thursday night, cutting the Highland lead to 10 on more than one occasion. However, Burton would snare several fourth-quarter rebounds when the Huskies needed it most, and they were able to keep Hillcrest at bay. Highland continues to hang around the top three in the Superconference North, improving to 10-3. The Ravens, meanwhile, dropped to 4-10.
There was a lot less drama in the nightcap, with the Hillcrest boys powering their way to 65-27 performance en route to their 10th win as well. Highland had four different scorers in the first quarter, but still found themselves trailing 19-8. The Ravens grew that lead to 28 in the second quarter, holding the Huskies to just two points in the frame. It was more of the same in the second half. Hillcrest limited Highland to single-digits in each quarter, while their offense continues to score at will. Seven different Ravens scored on Thursday night, including Mason Bender who set the pace with 20 and Seth Ours right on his heels with 18. Nicolas Oriano had nine to lead all Huskies. The Ravens maintain third place in the SEISC North and head into the weekend at 10-4. Highland continues to try for its first conference win next week at Lone Tree.