Girls’ basketball roundup: Big night for Highland

Tuesday night’s small school girls basketball slate was highlighted by a high-octane clash of Southeast Iowa Super Conference North Division opponents.

Highland (9-3) 45, Columbus (9-2) 44

Highland made a huge splash in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference North Division standings, handing Columbus its first conference defeat of the entire season.

After trailing 23-17 after the first half, Highland outscored Columbus 21-10 in the third quarter to lead 38-33 at the end of three quarters. The Wildcats rallied in the fourth but came up one-point short.

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Sarah Burton had a monster day for the Huskies. The senior star put up 18 points, 21 rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots to lead the Huskies.

Stella Slaymaker put up 12 points and eight rebounds in the win. Katie Herrig finished with eight. Kylie Allen, Mackenzie Davis and Hailey Brun scored two apiece, and Kelsi Cerny scored one.

Lily Coil scored 15 points to lead Columbus. Aracely Garza ended with 10 points and eight rebounds. Ariana Vergara had eight points. Isabel Rendon scored seven, and Frannie Sosa had four.

Columbus is now just 7-1 in conference play, tied atop the league with Lone Tree. Highland is one game back of both teams, at 6-2.

Hillcrest Academy (4-8) 56, Winfield-Mount Union (3-9) 48

Hillcrest Academy earned some revenge in Kalona after falling by one basket to the Wolves in January.

Hillcrest didn’t lose any of the first three quarters. The Ravens led 16-10 after one period, 24-18 at halftime and 40-28 after three periods.

WMU had a game-high 20 points in the fourth period, but the Wolves couldn’t pull off the comeback.

Malia Yoder had a huge game for Hillcrest Academy. She led the team with 23 points, 10 rebounds and eight steals.

Claire Withrow had a big night as well, scoring 20 points. Niva Hellmuth had eight. Delaney Shaw scored three, and Lydia Beachy had two.

WACO 61 (5-5), Louisa-Muscatine (3-9) 23

WACO rolled through Louisa-Muscatine in a SEISC North battle. The Warriors led 29-15 at halftime and 46-23 after three quarters, before winning the fourth quarter 15-0.

Naomi Egli and Emma Wagler scored 18 points apiece to colead the team. Ella Huisenga scored eight points. Marie Farmer put up seven. Brenna Graber and Halle Shelman scored four each, and Shanae Riley put up two.

WACO isn’t out of the North Division race. The Warriors are now 5-3 in league play.