A new Area Game of the Week basketball season tips off this afternoon on the KCII3 Stream with the Hillcrest Academy Raven girls hosting Sigourney as part of the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s Achieve Challenge scrimmages.
The Hillcrest girls went 6-15 overall last season including a 3-13 record in the SEISC North. This season, the Ravens welcome aboard new head man Chris Nachtigall, who takes over for Mitchell Drey. All starters from last season’s team return for Hillcrest, including seniors Malia Yoder, Delaney Shaw and Lydia Beachy. Juniors returning from last year’s main starting five include Claire Withrow and Niva Helmuth. Withrow comes off of a solid sophomore season when she scored a team-high 300 points, nabbed 67 rebounds and had 40 steals. Yoder handed out a team-high 54 assists, while Helmuth led her squad with 14 blocks. As a team, Hillcrest scored 38.1 points-per-game and gave up 42.9. The Ravens shot 28 percent from the field, 29 percent from beyond the arc, and just over 51 percent from the charity stripe. Per game, the Ravens collected 32 rebounds, dished out eight-and-a-half assists, recorded 11.3 steals, two blocks, and 19.7 turnovers.
The Sigourney Savage girls will arrive in Kalona hoping to improve on a 2023-2024 campaign that saw themselves finish 19-5 overall and the winners of the SICL East at 10-4. The Savages also welcome a new head coach to their program in former standout Kaylee Weber, who scored over 1,000 career points as a player for the yellow and black. Weber faces the challenge of having to replace three of last season’s five starters, and will likely look to senior Josephine Moore to lead her squad this season. Moore finished last season second on the team in points with 245 and the leader in rebounds with 204. Fellow starter Ava Fisch also returns for the Savages in her senior season. Fisch scored 146 points a season ago, as well as tallied 45 steals and 31 assists. Last season, Sigourney scored 49 points-per-game and gave up 34-and-a-half. The Savages shot over 33 percent from the field, almost 29 percent from three, and 59 percent at the line. Per game, Sigourney gathered 29-and-a-half boards, doled out over 10 assists, had nearly 12 steals, two blocks, and a shade under 14 turnovers.
Raven Head Coach Chris Nachtigall spoke with KCII Sports earlier this week about the things he would like to see from his team when they hit their home court this afternoon. “We’re going to look at two things: How are we taking care of the ball, and are we creating some turnovers on the defensive side of things. If we can get better in those two areas on Saturday, that’s going to be really important,” Nachtigall said.
Sigourney’s Kaylee Weber also spoke with KCII Sports about her excitement to get the new season underway. “Being able to give back to my school and program is what really has me most excited. I love to see the girls getting eager in the gym. That’s really what I love about coaching and this season. I am super excited to get to know these girls and watch them develop as athletes and as people,” Weber said.
This is the first meeting between the Hillcrest and Sigourney girls all-time in the Varsity Bound era.
You can hear all of the action live this afternoon between Hillcrest Academy and Sigourney streaming exclusively online at KCIIRadio.com on the KCII3 Stream beginning with pregame coverage at 2:30, and tipoff between the Ravens and Savages at 3 p.m. from Dwight Gingerich Gymnasium at Hillcrest Union in Kalona.