Area girls basketball roundup: Highland wins two

Several Union area small school girls basketball teams took part in their first action of 2026 on Friday and Saturday. The Southeast Iowa Super Conference North resumed the season inside the Casey’s Center with a matchup between Highland and Pekin, with the Huskies coming out on top.

Highland improved to 8-0 in SEISC North play with a win over Louisa-Musctine on Saturday, and remains in first place. Elsewhere, WACO rebounded from a defeat to Columbus on Friday with a win over Winfield-Mt. Union.

In the South Iowa Cedar League, Keota snapped its three game skid in spectacular fashion with a 30-point victory. River Valley Conference side Mid-Prairie took part in a ranked nonconference game, falling narrowly to Solon despite a valiant comeback effort.

Here’s how area small school girls teams performed Friday and Saturday.

Jan. 2

Highland 40, Pekin 31

Pekin hung around with the SEISC North’s top side for three quarters, but Highland pulled away, winning the fourth quarter 10-5. Kamryn Fink led the way with 11 points, along with four rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Carlie Gambell led the way in scoring for Pekin with 12 points. Abby Guise had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

West Burlington 64, Van Buren County 59

The Warriors and Falcons were tied at 53 with two minutes left, but the Falcons had enough offense left in the tank to hold off VBC.

Sophia Jirak led the way for the Warriors with 19 points and added seven assists. Daphny Wells tallied 15 points and 14 rebounds off the bench, while Marlee Mertens and Adalyn Snowgren each scored 10.

Louisa-Muscatine 52, Hillcrest Academy 35

Hillcrest fell behind 18-6 after one quarter and was unable to recover. Despite the loss, Niva Helmuth had a productive outing on the glass with 15 rebounds along with nine points.

Wapello 53, Winfield-Mt. Union 18

W-MU’s struggled continued in its first game of the new year with a blowout defeat to the Arrows. Lilly Heckethorn had seven points and two rebounds for the Wolves. Suttyn Schlee had six points and five boards.

Holy Trinity Catholic 54, New London 22

The Tigers outscored the Crusaders 10-7 in the fourth quarter, but remain in search of their first win of the season after a failing to breach double figures in the first three periods.

Jan. 3

No. 14 Keota 55, Moravia 25

Keota held Moravia to just eight points in the second half. Cameron Haifley lit up the scoreboard with 21 points, five rebounds and three steals. Kennedy Jackson added nine points and five boards.

WACO 56, Winfield-Mt. Union 41

The Warriors outscored the Wolves 12-6 in both the first and fourth quarters en route to their second win of the season. WACO’s Brenna Graber scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Madelyn Farmer had a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards.

Highland 53, Louisa-Muscatine 31

Highland trailed 9-6 after one quarter of play, but quickly came alive, winning the second quarter 16-9 and holding L-M to single digits in each of the final three quarters. Fink had 13 points, 13 rebounds and five steals, while Kinzie Ruess had 12 points and 10 boards.

No. 10 Solon 67, No. 12 Mid-Prairie 59

After trailing 42-19 at halftime, Mid-Prairie outscored the Spartans 24-9 in the third quarter and matched them with 16 points in the fourth. But the Golden Hawks couldn’t fully flip the deficit in a ranked defeat. Mid-Prairie shot 38.5% from 3-point range and had four double digit scorers led by Morgyn Bender’s 19 points.

Lone Tree 56, Hillcrest 48

The Ravens won the first quarter 12-9 and trailed by just one point at halftime, but was outscored 18-11 in the third and didn’t have enough offense in the fourth to come away with the win. Claire Withrow scored 17 points and added six rebounds and three assists. Helmuth added 14 points.