The #2 Indianola girls basketball stayed undefeated with a blowout win over Pella to begin Little Hawkeye Conference play Friday 65-35, while the Indians boys missed the tying shot at the buzzer to fall 63-60 to the Dutch as heard live on KNIAKRLS.com.

The Indians girls led nearly from start to finish as they ran a clinic on offense, scoring 41 first half points and holding Pella to just 16, including six three-point buckets. The Indians did not let up in the third quarter, with Lauren Blake scoring 10 of 24 points and Indianola earning a running clock. Pella would shut out the Indians in the fourth as the benches emptied, but the damage was already done. Head coach Jeff Janssen tells KNIA Sports the Indians played how they want to play the rest of the season this contest.

“To start the game the way we did, getting 41 points and good looks around the rim, and we probably missed a few that we would normally make or need to make. But a great start, and an outstanding third quarter for us, that’s some film that I’m going to go back and re-evaluate and show the girls because that’s really how we want to make it this year, is that third quarter.”

Blake led the Indians with 24 points, while Emily Naughton had 13.

The Indians boys and Pella traded buckets throughout the entire half, with no team leading by more than seven points the entire way. Pella led at the end of the first 13-6, but Indianola outscored the Dutch 20-9 in the second to take a 26-22 halftime lead. The two squads continued to battle back and forth, with the Indians clinging to a 42-40 third quarter lead, and getting their lead as high as five before Pella came back to lead by two possessions late. After the Indians got the deficit down to three, the teams traded free throws late, and Casey Glascock had a corner three rim out as the buzzer expired. Brayden Drea had 18 points to lead the squad.

The Indians girls improve to 3-0 and 1-0 in conference play, while the boys are 1-1 and 0-1. The girls next play Tuesday at Lewis Central, while the boys will wait until Friday to host Pella Christian.