It’s a special edition of the KCII Area Game of the Week tonight in Kalona, as the Hillcrest Academy Ravens welcome conference foe WACO to town on Alumni Night for a basketball doubleheader.

The Hillcrest girls are 4-2 overall and 2-2 in the Superconference after tackling the Wapello Arrows on the road Friday by 24. Malia Yoder and Claire Withrow each had 26 in the victory, while Delaney Shaw brought down 11 rebounds. The Ravens put up 54.8 points-per-game, and give up 47, shooting 34.9 percent from the field, 29.3 percent from three and 43.1 percent at the line. Hillcrest corrals over 36 boards a night, while also poking away nearly 19 steals a contest. Per game, Withrow leads individually with over 19 points, followed by Yoder’s 18.2.

The WACO girls are 2-3 overall and also 2-2 in the SEISC after a home loss to Lone Tree Friday. Sophomore Madelyn Farmer led the Warriors with nine. WACO puts up 39.4 points a night, and gives up nearly 41, shooting 34.8 percent from the field, 23.2 percent from downtown and over 44 percent at the stripe. The Warriors are turned over less than 13 times per game. Individually, Brenna Graber’s 13 points-per-game leads WACO, along with Ella Huisenga’s 6.8 boards a contest.

Hillcrest Head Coach Chris Nachtigall told KCII Sports that he was proud of his team and the way they performed last week, but knows that there are still improvements to be made. “I think for us it’s about execution in our half court offense, playing intense on defense and making sure that we’re at the assignments we need to be at. Just the little things. Just making sure that we’re taking care of the ball, those types of things,” Nachtigall said. 

WACO Head Coach Lisa Graber also spoke with KCII Sports about how her team has made progress through their first handful of games. “They’re learning quickly,” Graber said. “I think we have good team chemistry, so that is something that will serve us well going forward. They’re working hard, and that’s a big deal.”

WACO leads the series on the girls’ side 21-4 dating back to 2008, and have won the last 13 matchups.

The Raven boys put their unbeaten 5-0 overall and 4-0 conference records to the test tonight. Hillcrest got their fifth win of the season at Wapello Friday by a 68-28 final tally. Seth Ours led the way with 13, Mason Bender came second with a 12-point 10-board double-double, while Bryce and Kale Bailey combined for 22. The Ravens have flown high offensively, scoring over 69 points-per-game, while only giving up 34.6, good for third-best in Class 1A. Hillcrest shoots a second-best in 1A 54.8 percent from the field, 36.7 percent from three and over 57 percent at the line. Hillcrest passes out more than 17 assists a night, thanks to Rowan Miller and Ours’ 5.6 and 3.6 assists-per-game, respectively.

The WACO boys will also look to keep their conference record unblemished after all is said and done tonight in Kalona. Isaac Rich and Christian Stacy combined for 40 of their 66 total points in their victory against Lone Tree Friday. WACO puts up over 53 points-per-game, and gives up close to 47, shooting over 37 percent from the field, over 29 percent from three and nearly 66 percent from the charity stripe. WACO records nearly 18 rebounds a night, as well as passes out nearly nine assists. Stacy leads the way individually, scoring 15 a contest, and pokes out a SEISC North-leading 4 steals a game.

Raven Head Coach Dwight Gingerich previews his team’s battle for first place in the SEISC North. “We’ve got a big one with WACO, a team that has tremendous team quickness, and they play really hard. We expect a great game,” Gingerich said.

Much like Gingerich, WACO Head Coach Chayse Roth also expects a tight battle on the road. “If we can execute our game plan, try to stay within us and take care of the ball, it’s going to be a really good matchup. It’s for first place in the north division, and it’s going to be a good one,” Roth said.  

The Ravens lead the boys’ series 21-6 dating back to 2006. WACO has won the last five in the series.

You can hear tonight’s Alumni Night doubleheader between WACO and Hillcrest Academy streaming exclusively online at KCIIRadio.com on the KCII3 Stream, beginning with pregame coverage of the girls game at 5:30, tipoff at 6, and coverage of the boys game to follow from historic Hillcrest Union in Kalona.