The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk boys and girls basketball teams step outside of conference play tonight with road trip north to battle the Alburnett Pirates. The Golden Hawk boys are still undefeated this year, 8-0 overall and 4-0 in the River Valley Conference, after a 61-57 Saturday Showcase win in Wellman over Solon where this week’s KCII Athlete of the Week Bryce Henry posted a career high 39 points. This season, the Hawks score 69 points per game and give up 49, shooting 44% from the floor, 36% from three and 71% at the line with 34 rebounds, 14 assists, nine steals and 13 turnovers per game. Individually, Henry leads with 24 points per game, Conner Wiles has a team best six boards, Brady Weber four assists and Ace Peck two steals.
Alburnett is 7-2 this season, 6-1 in the Tri-Rivers Conference after a 66-39 win over Edgewood-Colesburg Tuesday where Matthew Neighbor scored 22 points. This season the Pirates average 64 points per game and give up 42, shooting 49% from the floor, 34% from three and 58% at the line with 38 rebounds, 18 assists, 10 steals and 14 turnovers per game. Individually, Neighbor leads at 23 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two steals per night. Saturday, Golden Hawk head coach Daren Lambert talked about his team’s success in the first eight games.
Lambert said, “The thing that these guys have consistently done is respond. We challenge them every night. There are moments of adversity every game, whether we create them or you can credit them to the other team. I’m proud of these guys and the way they responded. They fight and win together. We’re 8-0 now, so we told them, that target on our back is getting bigger. Every team is going to be the one that wants to knock us off, so we know we’re going to get everyone’s best shot.”
This is the first all-time meeting between these two schools.
The Golden Hawk girls are 7-1 this year, 4-0 in the RVC, after their first loss Saturday, a 79-58 Showcase setback against Solon where they were led by Jeorgia Evans career high 14 points. This year the Hawks score 64 points per game and give up 44, shooting 39% from the floor, 28% from distance and 68% at the line with 39 rebounds, 20 steals, 17 assists and 20 turnovers per game. Individually, Callie Huber averages 13 points and 10 boards to lead the way with Katelyn Harland’s four assists and Evans four steals next.
Alburnett is 5-6 overall 2-5 in the Tri-Rivers West. They dropped a game Tuesday to Ed-Co 52-41. On the season, the Pirates score 43 per game and give up 49, shooting 31% from the floor, 27% from three and 64% at the line with 25 rebounds, 10 assists and steals and 17 turnovers per game. Individually, Kylie Cushman averages nine points per night, Katelynn Bowler six rebounds and Miranda Neighbor four assists and three steals. Golden Hawk head coach Danny Hershberger joined KCII Sports after Saturday’s loss to the Spartans to talk about how the Hawks can bounce back.
Hershberger said, “It’s been a few games since we have seen that kind of intensity and defensive pressure. It took us a little bit to adjust to that. We have to find ways to be better at that.”
These two schools have never met. Action starts tonight with the girls game at 5:30p.m. At Alburnett High School.