Wolves, Ravens split on the hardwood

WINFIELD - Hillcrest Academy and Winfield-Mt. Union traded conference wins on Thursday night. The Wolves rolled in the girls game, 53-25, but the Ravens punched back with a 59-44 win in the boys contest.

W-MU stepped on the gas pedal early and never let up in the first three quarters of the girls game. The Wolves led 18-4 after one quarter, 38-9 at halftime and 49-12 after the third period. Hillcrest more than doubled their score in the fourth quarter with a 13-4 run.

The Lady Wolves had three players reach double digits. Farrah Nelson led the way with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Jobey Malone and Bradie Buffington each scored 10.

Melina Oepping finished the night with nine points. Jami Wilkerson and Keetyn Townsley had three points apiece. Kynday Townsley, Molly Miller and Madie Anderson had two apiece. Ali Cockerham led the team with four steals, and Keely Malone had three assists.

Much like the W-MU girls did, Hillcrest's boys team came out of the gates firing. The Ravens led 20-11 after one quarter of play and 38-22 at halftime. W-MU outscored Hillcrest 22-21 in the second half, but the damage had already been done.

'Winfield is almost always a difficult place to play, so the good start was key,” Hillcrest head coach Dwight Gingrich said. 'We were able to weather their run and finish strong. It was good to once again get key contributions from a lot of different people.”

Kobe Borntrager and Eli Ours had 20 points apiece to lead Hillcrest. Borntrager also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, and Ours hit four of Hillcrest's six made 3-pointers.

Noah Miller had six points and three assists. Luke Schrock, Will Kolck and John Hughes had three apiece. Drew Blauvelt and Aaron Hershberger scored two each.

Daunte Oepping had 17 points and three steals for W-MU in a loss. Jared Arnold scored seven points and pulled down six rebounds. Juanito Piper had six points and six rebounds. Christian Gerot scored four points. Nolan Ross and Dawson Bergthold had three points apiece. Collin Simmons and Bryce Wade each scored two.