Highland Husky basketball closed out the regular season with a pair of losses, including the Highland boys falling last night. But the Huskies’ loss was the Keota Eagles’ gain, as Keota completed the regular season with a 74-39 victory. The Eagles led 21-8 at the end of the first quarter and never looked back, winning their ninth straight to improve to 19-3. The Eagles are off until Monday, when they will open the Class 1A-District 6 tournament by hosting North Tama. Highland finishes the regular season with a record of 1-19.
The Husky girls also fell in their regular-season finale 56-36 against Central Lee Friday night at the Southeast Iowa Super Conference Shootout. Highland trailed 14-9 after one quarter and was down nine at the break. But being outscored 28-17 in the second half was too much for the Huskies to overcome. Junior Sarah Burton once again led Highland with a double-double, collecting 20 points, 15 rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots. Senior Jessica Kraus added nine points and three rebounds, but the Huskies still fall to 9-12. The Highland girls will begin the postseason by traveling to English Valleys for the first round of the 1A-Region 3 tournament, while the Husky boys have a play-in game Friday night against conference and county rival Columbus in 1A-District 4.