PCM fought off a late fourth-quarter surge by Pella Christian to stun the No. 7-ranked Lady Eagles 56-55 last night in Monroe. Mustangs’ head coach Bret Grier said his team’s strong inside defense forced the Lady Eagles to settle for outside shots.

“I felt like early on we did a pretty good job of that [defensively], especially in the first half, the way we forced them into some missed three-point opportunities. It kind of gave us an early lead, some early momentum – especially with our young players” said Grier.

“I think once our girls realized they could play with this very nice Pella Christian team, it gave them a boost of confidence.”

PCM had a very balanced attack offensively, led by 12 points form Courtney VanHouweling and 10 points apiece out of Abbi Gilson and Kelsey Townsend. Pella Christian head coach Kevin Van Maanen said PCM earned the win by being better at what he hoped his own squad would do.

“I thought PCM did a good job. They beat us at our own game,” said Van Maanen. “They pushed the ball hard the whole night, they beat us up the floor in transition, and we’re supposed to be doing that. We got beat at our own game tonight.”

Jasmin Schelhaas led Pella Christian with 20 points, while Tayler Stursma chipped in nine. Both teams are back in competition tonight, as PCM faces Nevada and Pella Christian hosts Albia.