A look at the area’s top small-school basketball games

Late Jan. is upon us, and that means the conference races are about to head down the backstretch in the sport of high school basketball.

The area’s small school conferences are still up for grabs heading into a busy Friday night, but a few dominoes may fall this weekend in the hunt for various conference crowns.

Consider this a look ahead to what could be a wild weekend in high school basketball, as we take peak at some of the top matchups playing out in the Union coverage area this weekend.

Cardinal at WACO

Third place in the highly competitive Southeast Iowa Super Conference South Division is on the line in Wayland as WACO welcomes in Cardinal for a huge area boys matchup.

The WACO boys are currently 10-3 overall and 6-3 in South Division play. Cardinal is 8-4, 5-3.

This will be a rematch of a thriller in Eldon on Dec. 10, when WACO staged a come-from-behind 66-60 victory. Simeon Reichenbach led the way for the Warriors with 16 points, and Dawson Lewis and Landon Becker went off for 21 points and 19 points respectively for the Comets.

The WACO (6-7, 2-6) and Cardinal (4-10, 2-9) girls may not be too far up the South Division standings, but the Comets and Warriors may be in for quite the battle in the girls game.

The last time these two girls teams met up, Ellah Kissell’s 18-point night helped WACO pull away from Cardinal in the late stages for a 48-38 victory. Grace Coble put up 14 points for WACO in that game, and Cardinal’s Cynthia Albert and Nicoa McClure each had 10.

WACO at New London (Saturday)

One night after they host Cardinal, WACO will travel south for a battle with New London. This could be extremely significant on the boys’ side, as the Warriors look for revenge against the seventh-ranked New London boys (9-0, 8-0).

The WACO boys nearly defeated New London the last time the two met up. The Warriorshald a 33-16 halftime lead before New London stormed back to win it 60-57 in overtime behind a 19-point, 14-rebound night for Kade Benjamin.

The New London girls (0-15, 0-8) are still looking for their first win. The Warriors defeated them 49-21 last time the two teams met, as Kissell went off for 31 points.

Camanche at Mid-Prairie

The River Valley South leading Mid-Prairie boys (13-0, 11-0) will take a No. 6 (Class 2A) ranking into a major showdown with Camanche (12-1, 10-1), which sits second place in the River Valley North.

The Golden Hawks have not beaten the Storm since 2014, as Camanche has defeated Mid-Prairie in each of the last nine times the two squads have met up. The last time was when the Storm knocked Mid-Prairie out of the Substate semifinals, 67-55, last season, despite a 32-point night from Carter Harmsen.

The Mid-Prairie girls (8-5, 8-4) will host a Camanche squad (3-6, 4-8) that has struggled as of late. The Golden Hawks dominated the Storm 56-34 last season on a night when Maddie Nonnenmann scored 16.

Hillcrest Academy at Columbus

It should be a battle at Columbus when the Wildcat girls (2-12, 1-9) take on Hillcrest Academy (1-12, 0-8) in what promises to be one of the closest area contests of the night.

Hillcrest comes in looking for its first conference win of the season, and the Ravens came pretty close the last time these two teams met up. Libby White led the way with 13, as Columbus escaped 41-33, despite a 20-point night from Hillcrest’s Esther Hughes.

The Hillcrest boys (8-3, 7-3) will be favored to defeat the Wildcats (3-10, 3-7) in the second game of the doubleheader. Earlier this season, Grant Bender scored 23 as the Ravens ran past the Wildcats 74-37 in Kalona.

Sigourney at Keota

A couple of neighbors will go at it in the South Iowa Cedar League, and the boys’ matchup promises to be a big one in the East Division standings.

The Keota boys (7-7, 5-6) will battle for positioning in their rematch with Sigourney (8-7, 6-6). Keota won the first game this year, 56-48, behind a 17-point night from Evan Vittetoe. The Eagles have won the last six chapters in the rivalry, and 12 of the last 13.

The Keota girls (4-11, 4-7) will need to be at their best if they want revenge over the Savages (8-8, 5-6). Sigourney took the girls game 48-22 when the two squads met up in December.