As was promised in the preseason, the Pella girls basketball team turned up the heat with press defense in a 63-43 win over Mount Pleasant to begin the new season Tuesday, as heard live on 92.1 KRLS.

The Dutch forced 16 first-half turnovers from the Panthers and took advantage with a 9-0 run to end the first quarter and a 22-13 2nd frame.

Pella Senior Anna Vander Waal was excited to unveil the tempo and pace they’ve been working on this summer, and says she looks forward to further improvement.

“It was just super exciting to come out with a lot of energy tonight, and I think we wanted to come out super intense,” she says.

Vander Waal finished with 12 points and five assists. Kennedy Van Vark caught fire in her first career start, scoring 26 points and tallying eight rebounds. Anna Childerston scored 11 points and nabbed four steals, and Mia Warner finished two points shy of a double-double with eight points and 10 boards.

The win is the first as a head coach for Blaine Forsythe. Pella is 1-0 and returns to action on Tuesday, November 30th in a varsity doubleheader with the boys at North Polk.