For the Pella High girls basketball team, it’s déjà vu all over again, all over again. Just like last year, an opening round victory over Lewis Central in the 4-A state tournament has earned the Lady Dutch a date with Marion in the semifinals.

That contest happens this morning at 11:45 at Wells Fargo Arena.

In last year’s matchup, each team played eight girls. None of them were seniors, meaning that all 16 are back for the rematch, although the Indians have added reinforcements in freshmen Kayba Laube, who is their second leading scorer.

Pella senior Ciara Buchheit vividly remembers Marion from last year’s game, a 54-48 thriller in which the Lady Dutch hit two clutch three pointers late to earn the victory.

“I remember they have a lot of different threats on the offensive end. But I think that our defense is a good matchup for them, and if we can keep the same level that Marion plays, I think we can stop them.”

While both teams had more than a week to prepare for their opening round games on Tuesday, it’s a 48-hour turnaround for today’s tilt. Assistant Pella Coach Wade Van Vark says that it’s very challenging to get ready for such a big game in a short amount of time, but they’ve got the right man leading the way.

“We’re really lucky to have coach (Jerod) Garland at the head of things. He does an amazing job of tapping resources and putting things together. He’s got one of those basketball minds where he can see things on film and know what’s going to work against it and know how to stop things.”

This is Pella’s 10th trip to the state tournament, and it’s the sixth time they’ve made it to the semifinals. A win today would earn the school’s third ever trip to the state championship game, which would be tomorrow night.

Opening tip today between Pella and Marion is at 11:45 in Des Moines. Trevor Castle and Randy Sikkema will have the play-by-play on 92.1 KRLS, beginning with pregame coverage at 11:15.