Photo Courtesy of Hillcrest Academy Yearbook

Come mid-February in Iowa High School basketball, they don’t all have to be Picassos or Rembrandts, you just have to be able to survive and advance. That’s exactly what the Hillcrest Academy Raven girls basketball team did Thursday, nipping New London 47-44 in the opening round of the Class 1A girls regional tournament at Hillcrest Union.

The game was played in a tight window, with the Ravens up 10-9 after one quarter. An 11-2 New London run allowed the Tigers to take an 21-20 lead to half. Hillcrest countered with a 10-2 third quarter run and was on top 34-30 going to the fourth. The Ravens would enjoy their largest lead of the night at 42-34 midway through the final frame, but the Tigers clawed back one more time, getting within three in the final minute, before Hillcrest held on for the win.

The Ravens won the turnover battle 30-15 and rebounding 34-25. Hillcrest got their heroics from junior Claire Withrow who took over the game with a career high 30 points and seven made threes. She spoke with KCII Sports after the win about the night.

Withrow said, “We were really focused on pushing the ball tonight. Getting points in transition. Moving the ball quickly helped a lot. (Driving to the basket) has opened up a lot of things for me including passing lanes to find teammates. When they come close out hard I can go around them. We knew we had to play hard. We gave it all of our effort, worked well together as a team and got everyone touches. (When the game is close) it gets a little nerve-racking at the end. (This career high and win) feels great! It’s pretty crazy! I had all of my family here to support me tonight.”

Niva Helmuth and Delaney Shaw each had 10 rebounds and Helmuth added five steals to lead Hillcrest. Malia Yoder and Stavia Miller each had three assists. New London got 19 points from Mylee Miller. The Tigers end their season at 1-22, while the Ravens move to 11-11 on the year and into the 1A Region 7 Quarterfinals Tuesday, to meet conference foe Highland, who was a 48-29 winner over Wapello.