In our final regular season broadcast of the 2017-2018 basketball season last night on 92.1 KRLS, the Pella girls defeated Dallas Center-Grimes 54-44, while the Mustang boys cruised to a 60-36 win over the Little Dutch.

The Lady Dutch jumped out to an 8-0 first quarter lead, only to see DC-G score the final 11 points of the quarter and grab an 11-8 lead. The Fillies maintained that lead through the end of the third, when the score was 35-33.

That’s when Pella went on its second, and most decisive, run of the game. A 9-0 spurt gave the Lady Dutch a 42-35 lead, and while the Fillies hit back-to-back three-pointers to make it a one-point game, Pella made 9-of-10 fourth quarter free throws to salt the game away.

Coach Jerod Garland said that it was a very gratifying way to close the regular season.

“We decided not to press this game and see if we could play solid half court defense. From the very beginning, I thought the girls were locked in ready to go. It’s always nice to jump out to a nice lead in the first couple minutes, which puts some pressure on them. We took some punches, they definitely came back like a good team does, but I was proud of our girls because we got up every time and fought back.”

On senior night, senior Erica Bossard scored a career high 16 points, while classmate Chloe Van Vliet added 13. Emily Holterhaus chipped in 11 points and 14 boards.

The Lady Dutch close the regular season with a 14-7 record and an 8-6 mark in the Little Hawkeye Conference. They’re off until next Saturday’s second round regional game against either Knoxville or Oskaloosa.

Pella’s boys struggled from start to finish last night against the Mustangs, falling behind by double digits in the second quarter and never recovering. Reserve freshman Grant Nelson led the Little Dutch with 10 points, as they drop to 10-10 on the season and finish the LHC at 5-9. They’ll close out the regular season Tuesday night at home against #1 Mount Pleasant.