The Indianola girls and boys basketball squads swept Pella Christian to close out the 2019 portions of their schedule in a pair of games heard live on 94.3 KNIA, with the girls winning handily 55-29, and the boys in a nailbiter 72-68. The Indians and Eagles girls were mired in a defensive struggle, with neither team finding much of an advantage until late in the second quarter when the Indians went on a run to earn a 30-16 halftime lead, then outscored the Eagles 25-13 in the second half to earn the victory. Head coach Jeff Janssen tells KNIA Sports while it seemed like an off night offensively for the Indians, his team still had three scorers in double digits and 10 made three-point shots.

“We got some key contributions off the bench and from our non-primary scorers, and we definitely shot too many three’s tonight but I’ll take 10 made three’s and a 26 point win going into the break anytime I can take it.”

Kendall Clatt led the Indians with 13 points, while Lauren and Bailey Blake each scored 11. The Indians boys fell behind 7-0 to start the game, but a quick turnaround led to the Indians controlling most of the first half leading to a nine point halftime advantage with AJ Toigo leading the way with 17 first half points, but Pella Christian refused to go away easily in the second half. The Eagles erased the deficit with multiple runs and took several leads in the second half, but the Indians answered every run with key shots and defensive stops to hold on to the minimal lead late to earn the win. Tyce Johnson led all scorers with 26 points, including six triples from beyond the arc, and Toigo had 21. Both Indians squads are now 4-2 on the season, and 2-1 in Little Hawkeye Conference play, and will next play in 2020 on the road at Lewis Central.

The Indianola wrestling team will also continue to compete today in the Battle of Waterloo, find full results of the two-day tournament in today’s local sports.