The Winfield-Mt. Union boys and girls basketball teams protected their home floor Tuesday in a Southeast Iowa Superconference doubleheader against Hillcrest Academy. In a pair of games heard live on AM and FM KCII, the No. 11 in Class 1A WMU girls put on a defensive clinic to stifle the Ravens 64-4. The Lady Wolves raced out to a 17-1 lead after the first frame and were on top 37-1 at half, enacting the running clock late in the second. They pitched another shut out in the third, outscoring the Ravens 15-0 to lead 52-1 going to the fourth. Hillcrest got their lone field goal of the contest in the final eight minutes on a jumper from Malia Yoder, with the Wolves winning the final period 8-3. After the game, WMU head coach Mendy McCreight talked about her team’s defensive effort and individual standouts. “I’ve seen a lot of good things with our defense and that side of the ball is key. Our hands tend to get into passing lanes, then we get turnovers and turn those into points. Bradie (Buffington) shot the ball well tonight. She was getting her looks, turning and knowing where to go with the ball. I was very pleased with how she stepped up. Melina Oepping and Mariana Hagmeier both played well for us.”
WMU held Hillcrest without a field goal for nearly 30 minutes, forcing more than 20 turnovers. Bradie Buffington put up 22 points to lead the Lady Wolves, Melina Oepping had 14 and Mariana Hagmeier added 11 off the bench. With the win, the Lady Wolves remain perfect at 11-0 on the year, Hillcrest falls to 0-10.
In the boys contest, the Wolves controlled action en route to a 59-42 win and a season sweep of the Ravens. The WMU defense set the tone early, helping the Wolves to a 15-9 lead after one and keying a 15-3 run in the second frame to help build a 30-12 advantage at the half. Winfield-Mt. Union maintained their lead at 43-23 going to the fourth. In the final period, the Hillcrest offense got on track with 20 points, but the Wolves had an answer for each Raven run down the stretch. After the contest, WMU head coach Klay Edwards spoke with KCII Sports about the keys to the win and individual standouts. “I think we are getting better at talking and understanding our roles. Whether we are a help defender, hedging, how we get through screens. Jake Edwards did a fantastic job on (Seth) Ours tonight. He had been playing really great ball, it was a focus of ours to limit him. As a unit of five people, I thought we were really locked in. Both Abram (Edwards) and Cam (Buffington) were well above 10 rebounds for the night. Gabe Hemsworth came out and he was firing on all cylinders in the first half.”
Four got to double figures for the Wolves led by 18 poins from Abram Edwards, 14 for Cam Buffington and 11 each for Jake Edwards and Gabe Hemsworth. A pair of Ravens reached double figures led by 16 for Grant Bender and 13 points for Luke Schrock. With the win, the Wolves improve to 7-1 on the year, the Ravens fall to 5-3.