Area girls basketball: Mid-Prairie, Keota keep pace, Highland stays on top

Union area small school girls basketball teams were back in action Thursday and Friday night. The cold weather Friday forced some postponements, but a few squads were able to brave the elements and hit the court.

Mid-Prairie, which held its spot at No. 13 in the latest Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union rankings, had its game against West Liberty moved up to Thursday. That didn’t rattle the Golden Hawks, who cruised to their second straight win and sit third place in the River Valley South.

Keota also moved its game up to Thursday and picked up a win over HLV-TC. The Eagles are in fifth place in a competitive South Iowa Cedar League with five games left in the regular season.

Highland continued to create space at the top of Southeast Iowa Super Conference North with a victory over Wapello on Friday. Elsewhere, Hillcrest Academy got a much-needed win in a nail-biter over WACO.

Here’s a roundup of area small school girls basketball games from Thursday and Friday.

Jan. 22

No. 13 Mid-Prairie 61, West Liberty 37

The Golden Hawks outscored the Comets 38-5 in the second and third quarters. Morgyn Bender stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, eight rebounds, two assists, three steals and four blocks. Jeorgia Evans had a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards off the bench.

Keota 47, HLV-TC 32

Keota rebounded from an 11-5 deficit after one quarter to pick up a comfortable win over the Warriors. The Eagles outscored HLV-TC 16-9 in the fourth and were led by Cameron Haifley’s 18 points. Emily Conger was also in double figures with 12.

Lone Tree 53, Pekin 43

Pekin won the fourth quarter 14-9, but couldn’t flip a 34-21 halftime deficit against the No. 2 team in the SEISC North. Anna Hadley had 20 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, while Abby Guise logged a double-double with 15 points and 10 boards.

Sigourney 56, WACO 53

WACO won the second half 36-27, but came up agonizingly short in a nonconference defeat.

Central Lee 48, Winfield-Mt. Union 41

W-MU had a strong start to the game and took a 35-33 lead into the final frame, but Central Lee had more in the tank and outscored the Wolves 15-6 in the fourth. Madisen Kellogg led all scorers with 25 points. Suttyn Schlee chipped in 11 and four steals for the Wolves.

Jan. 23

Hillcrest 52, WACO 50

The Ravens picked up their second win in three games, holding off the Warriors at home. WACO made a late push after trailing 48-39 with 3:25 left, but clutch free throws from Brynna Boshart Claire Withrow iced the game in the final seconds. Withrow was responsible for 30 of Hillcrest’s 52 points.

Highland 52, Wapello 35

Hailey Brun was one of three Highland players in double figures with 15 points. Kamryn Fink scored 12 and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Kinzie Ruess had 10 points, nine boards and four steals. The Huskies are now 13-0 in SEISC North play.

Danville 44, Van Buren County 38

The Warriors were unable to flip a 15-11 deficit after the first quarter in a tight loss to the Bears. Sophia Jirak finished with 12 points, three rebounds, one assist and three steals. Adalyn Snowgren added 11 points, five boards and four assists.

No. 9 Mediapolis 62, New London 10

The Tigers struggled to get going against the best side in the SEISC South. The loss dropped New London to 0-16.

Davis County 53, Cardinal 35

The Comets trailed by three points at halftime but were outscored 21-4 in the third and suffered a second straight loss. Kolbi Saner led Cardinal with 16 points, six rebounds and four steals. Alexis Bissell added 13 points, six boards, two assists and three steals.