The Sigourney Savage girls were one of a few local teams that started the high school basketball playoffs with victories. Sigourney defeated Pekin 70-37 Thursday night in the first round of the Class 1A Region 3 tournament behind 16 points, four rebounds and three steals from senior Erin Dawson.

Junior teammate Josephine Moore also had 16 points and four rebounds, while senior point guard Carly Goodwin finished with 11 points, seven assists, three steals and two blocked shots to help the Savages win their 12th straight game and improve to 18-4. Sigourney will now prepare to face Melcher-Dallas in the Class 1A Region 3 quarterfinals Tuesday.

The Highland Husky boys also earned a win to start the postseason by defeating Cedar Valley Christian 59-49 Friday in a play-in game in Class 1A Substate 3. Highland doubled a slim two-point lead from halftime going into the fourth quarter, but it was the 15-9 run to close the game that put the Huskies over the top.

Junior Logan McFarland scored a game-high 17 points for Highland and also had six rebounds and two steals. Senior forward Nic Oriano had 14 points and four boards, while junior Louis Horak added seven points, 10 rebounds and three steals to help the Huskies raise their record to 3-18. Highland will hit the road for the official first round of the Substate 3 tournament Monday night to face North Linn.