Photos Courtesy of Hillcrest Academy Yearbook

The Hillcrest Academy Raven boys and girls basketball teams welcomed the Pekin Panthers to Dwight Gingerich Court at Hillcrest Union Tuesday for a Southeast Iowa Superconference doubleheader. The girls started the night with their fourth straight win, taking down the Panthers 40-32. The Ravens pulled away methodically during the night, up 11-9 after one and 22-17 at half. Hillcrest allowed just three third quarter points to push their lead to seven going to the fourth, and put up 13 in the fourth to hold off the Panthers down the stretch. Hillcrest had 34 rebounds, 20 on offense and 14 steals. Malia Yoder led with 15 points, four assists and four steals, Niva Helmuth and Delaney Shaw each had 10 boards. The Ravens are now 9-8 on the year and 7-7 in the Superconference as Pekin plunges to 7-10 overall and 5-9 in league play.

In a key boys battle, Pekin scored the road win over the Ravens 51-40. The teams were even at 14 after one and Hillcrest put together a 13-5 run that spanned the full second period to take a 27-19 lead into break. The Panthers controlled the second half, going on an 18-4 run, taking up the full third quarter, and outscoring Hillcrest 14-9 in the fourth. It was a tough night offensively for Hillcrest, shooting 14% from the floor and piling up 18 turnovers. The Ravens finished with 23 boards, eight steals and seven assists. Hillcrest was led by Rowan Miller’s 15 points and five steals and 10 points and two assists from Bryce Bailey. The loss drops the Ravens back into a first-place tie in the North with WACO and moves them to 15-2 overall and 12-2 in conference. Pekin is 11-6 on the year 10-3 in conference play.