Two local rivals meet for a high school hoops doubleheader tonight when the Columbus Wildcats host the Highland Huskies in the KCII Area Game of the Week. Up first is a girls’ basketball battle for first place in the North division of the Southeast Iowa Super Conference, with both teams off to unbeaten starts to conference play.

Highland is 2-0 in the Super Conference North and 4-0 overall behind breakout star Kamryn Fink. The freshman is putting up huge numbers, averaging over 22 points and 14 rebounds per game. Huskies head coach Jody Fink tells KCII Sports that he’s most impressed with how in sync a young team appears to be.

“The camaraderie of all our girls working together,” Fink says. “We’re sharing the ball [and] it doesn’t really matter who is getting what. We’re all working together for the betterment of the team and the success of the team.”

Despite a loss to Central Lee last night ending their 4-0 start to the season, Columbus has won its first three conference games behind the scoring of senior Lily Coil, who is pouring in over 15 points per contest.

Senior guard Ariana Vergara is scoring better than 10 points per game but also racking up almost seven steals a game as well. It’s part of a stingy defense that gives up only about 35 points a game and that Wildcats head coach Kasey Keltner says is central to their success.

“We’ve been able to play multiple defenses in our first four games,” Keltner says, “and I feel like we’ve been effective in a lot of them. I just feel like our defensive effort is phenomenal right now.”

In the boys’ game, Columbus will be looking to get their first conference win of the season. Senior Juan Chairez paces the Wildcats by putting up 12 points and seven rebounds per game, and head coach Marcus Hall says he’s showcasing a want-to that he’s trying to instill in all his players.

“I feel like having the will to win and understanding just what it takes to win a high school basketball game, as far as effort and focus goes,” Hall says, “it’s definitely one of the top priorities.”

Highland dropped its opener at Hillcrest Academy its last time out. Huskies head coach Bill Zywiec says he liked the effort from his team, and now they just need to continue to hone their execution.

“I thought our effort for the entire game was great,” Zywiec says. “The kids fought from start to finish. We’re trying to implement a lot of new things this year, and the things that we watched on video are just little minor things that have to be adjusted.”

It’s a pair of conference rivalry battles on the hardwood between Columbus and Highland that you can hear exclusively streaming on KCIIradio.com through the KCII3 feed. Coverage starts this evening with the KCII Area Game of the Week Pregame Show at 5:30.