The Hillcrest Academy Raven boys and girls basketball teams take the floor on Saturday with history on the line when Rivermont Collegiate visits Kalona. Legendary Hillcrest head coach Dwight Gingerich stands on the precipice of a big milestone, entering the day with 699 career wins after a 74-37 win over Columbus on Friday. Gingerich talked with KCII, following the win over the Wildcats about where his thoughts turn when he thinks about the number 700. “First of all, it means I’ve been here for a while. I’ve been blessed with a ton of players that have been willing to do what the current team has been willing to do. Go out, go hard, play together as a team, be pushed. None of the numbers like this happen without that kind of commitment and players that we have had come through the program all these years. I think back on year one, two, three, it’s really easy for me to still remember those guys and I appreciate them all. Assistant coaches have been a huge part of it too. Ron Swartzendruber has been a big part of all of this for a lot of years. This feels like something you celebrate with all of those people. That includes my family. I was a lucky enough guy to be able to coach a couple of my sons through this. There have been some really great moments and some really hard moments, like anything in life. I feel fortunate to still be in this role. I still enjoy it. There’s a lot of joy for me in doing this. I feel lucky to still do it and hopefully we go out and play well on Saturday.”
Hillcrest is 3-1 on the season coming into play, on a three game winning streak, piling up wins against Wapello, Louisa-Muscatine and Columbus in the last 10 days. They Ravens score 56 points per game, and give up 41, shooting 41% from the floor, 33% from long range, and 66% at the line. They average 16 rebounds, 12 assists, and six steals to 10 turnovers. Individually, they are led by this week’s JET Physical Therapy Athlete of the Week, Grant Bender, who is scoring 15 points and pulling down four boards per night. Luke Schrock leads the guards with four assists and three steals per game. The opponent today is Rivermont Collegiate from Bettendorf, who has not played a game as a program since Valentine’s Day 2017, a 74-8 loss to Maquoketa Valley. The Lions are making the jump from the Northern Illinois Christian Conference, playing schools like Pathway Christian near Kalona, to the Iowa High School Athletic Association and Athletic Union. The Lions have one win against a school recognized by the IAHSAA, 55-51 against Meskwaki in 2010. Their last win of any kind came against Quad City Christian January 21st, 2016.
On the girls side, the Ravens enter in search of their first win on the year after falling to Columbus 41-33 Thursday. Esther Hughes led the Ravens with 20 points. She leads Hillcrest in all major stats including points, rebounds, steals and assists. The Ravens are on a current nine game losing streak dating back to last year. They face a Rivermont girls team who is also making the jump from the NICC to the girls’ Union and finding the transition difficult. This is the Lions first game since February 9th, 2012, that was a 54-19 loss to Calamus Wheatland. Their program has never won a game, playing 13 times all-time and dropping them all.
You can hear all of the action today between the Ravens and Lions, live on AM 1380, FM 102.5 and KCIIradio.com, beginning with the Washington HyVee Pregame Show at 3p.m., tip of the girls game at 3:30 with the boys to follow.