Both Pella Christian basketball teams suffered double digit losses at home against Norwalk last night in a doubleheader heard live on KRLS2 at www.kniakrls.com.  The Warrior girls won 45-24, while the boys were victorious 79-62.

It was a wire-to-wire win for Norwalk’s girls, who outscored the Eagles 30-13 in the second half after leading just 15-11 at intermission.  While Allison Van Gorp poured in 17 points for P.C., the rest of the team managed just seven points combined. Pella Christian falls to 0-6 on the season and 0-2 in Little Hawkeye Conference play.

The boys game was tied 28-28 with one minute remaining in the second quarter when Norwalk star Bowen Born nailed a pair of three-pointers to put the Warriors up six.  Tyler Johnson added a triple to start the third quarter, and Norwalk pushed the lead to 17 later in the frame. Pella Christian Coach Larry Hessing says those Norwalk runs made the difference.

“Those two possessions at the end of the first half were critical, all of a sudden you find yourself down six.  And then we had the basketball to begin the second half and we didn’t convert, and then they go and score the three, that’s a big swing.”

The Eagles had one big push left themselves, as they trimmed the deficit to just 51-44 when Ryan Vande Haar drilled a corner three with just over six minutes remaining.  However, a 9-0 Norwalk run out of a timeout put the game on ice.

While Josh Van Gorp (17) and Keean Cadwell (16) combined for 33 points for Pella Christian, Born scored 37 for Norwalk.  It’s Pella Christian’s first loss of the season, as they fall to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the LHC. Up next for both the boys and girls is a trip to Indianola on Friday night.