The Lone Tree Lions and Highland Huskies each made it back-to-back wins to start the new girls’ basketball season by getting victories Saturday at the Four Corners Shootout in Keota.

Lone Tree topped the hosting Keota Eagles 55-48, taking a 17-13 lead by the end of the first quarter and going up 33-28 at halftime. Keota would hang tough, cutting the margin down to three points after three quarters, but the Lions would keep the Eagles at arm’s length the rest of the way.

Junior guard Finley Jacque had team highs of 13 points, four assists and three steals to lead Lone Tree, while senior Vivian Zaruba had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Junior Ava Christofferson had 11 points for the 10th-ranked team in the state in Class 1A, while Lions senior Rylee Shield added eight points and six rebounds.

Highland took down Iowa Valley 54-42 in their second game of the Four Corners Shootout, responding to a 10-8 deficit after a quarter of play by grabbing a one-point lead going into the half.

But it was the 18-9 run by the Huskies to start the second half that gave them a 38-30 lead going into the final period that they would never relinquish.

Freshman Kamryn Fink hit four three-point shots and had a double-double of 18 points, 11 rebounds and six assists to pace Highland. Sophomore Hailey Brun added 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals for the Huskies, while junior Emersyn Schultz came off the bench to produce 10 points and five boards.

Sophomore Katelynn Thomann also had six points and nine rebounds, while junior Mackenzie Davis blocked three shots to go with six points scored as Highland now sets up a crucial early-season meeting with Lone Tree tomorrow night with both teams looking to improve to 3-0 and win their first conference game of the season.

You can catch the Huskies hosting the Lions in the KCII Area Game of the Week tomorrow beginning with pregame coverage at 7 p.m. streaming on KCIIradio.com.