Pella Lady and Little Dutch notched a pair of conference wins Tuesday night as both teams completed the season sweep of Newton.
The Lady Dutch were the first to hit the floor, and they hit it running. Three-point shots were dropping from all around the arc, as Pella put in 7 first half treys. Pella was well on their way to a 71-29 victory.
Eleven Lady Dutch players hit the scoring column on Tuesday night. Makenzie Vander Molen led the way for Pella with 14 points, all in the first half. She was good from three-point range 4 times. Lindsay Bentzinger added 10 points, including a pair of 3’s of her own. Kelsey Fynaardt also had 10 points for the Lady Dutch.
Pella held Newton to just 8 second half points, and committed (unofficially) just 12 turnovers. With the win the Pella girls improved to 9-2 overall with a 7-1 conference mark. They are second in the conference race behind South Tama. The Lady Dutch, however, do not gain any ground on South Tama as they were victorious over Knoxville Tuesday night.
The Pella boys hit the hardwood for the nightcap of our doubleheader. Newton played very hard early on, keeping it close for most of the third quarter. The Cardinals did a good job slowing the lightening-quick style Pella loves to run, but it was only a matter of time before the numbers and pressure caught up to them. Newton played just 7 players Tuesday night compared to Pella’s 15. Pella had a 19-11 advantage after the first quarter. Pella started to click in the second quarter and held Newton to 5 points, taking a 40-16 advantage into the locker room.
The Little Dutch, like the girls earlier in the night, had eleven players make their mark on the score sheet. A combination of the tough Pella defense and running clock in the second half held the Cardinals to just 4 second half points. Pella won this one easily, 67-20.
Lucas Boyd led the way in scoring with 17, 15 points came in the first half. Grant Barrick had 12 points and Kyle Newendorp added 11 points for the Little Dutch.
With the victory, Pella improved to 9-2 overall and 7-1 in conference play. Grinnell lost on Tuesday night to Pella Christian. With that loss, Pella is now atop the Little Hawkeye Conference by themselves. Just last week, Norwalk, Grinnell and Pella were tied for the conference lead.
Pella girls and boys basketball teams now prepare for Grinnell on Thursday night. It is a rescheduled game that was postponed due to weather from it’s original date of January 11th.