In their first home conference games of the season the Pella Christian basketball teams split with Grinnell Friday night, as the Eagles girls fell 62-32 and the boys won 63-42, as heard live on 92.1 KRLS. 

In the girls game, Pella Christian hung tough with Class 4A’s #8 ranked Grinnell trailing just 6-5 at the end of the first quarter. From there the Eagles struggled with turnovers and rebounding, as they turned the ball over 34 times and allowed the Tigers to pull down 28 offensive rebounds en route to the loss. Emri Agre led the Eagles in scoring with nine points, with Faith Kacmarynski adding in seven. Pella Christian fell to 0-3 in Little Hawkeye Conference play and 2-5 on the season.

Pella Christian was missing a third of their team against the Tigers in the boys game due to injuries and illnesses, but that didn’t stop them as they dominated wire-to-wire for the victory. The Eagles came out aggressive, jumping out to a 19-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. Pella Christian maintained a sizable lead for most of the game including a 33-point advantage early in the 4th quarter, but Grinnell scored on some Eagles mistakes late to pull with 20 before the final buzzer sounded. The Eagles had three players score double figures. Niko Schirz led the way with 16 points, Aiden Stoltz added 15, and Eric Mulder had 11. Eagles Head Coach J.D. Boer said that while he wasn’t sure who would be available, he was proud of how the team handled themselves in the victory. 

The Eagles improved to 2-1 in conference play and 4-1 overall on the season. The Pella Christian boys will be in action on Monday when they host Pekin, before both teams play their final game before the holiday break at Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont on Tuesday.

 

The Pella Christian bowling teams will play host for the second time this season today as they welcome Norwalk to the Tulip City.

The Eagles had their first match of the season last week against Oskaloosa. Pella Christian fell in both matches, with the boys falling to Indians 2646-2097 and the girls falling 1946-1739. Last season when Pella Christian and Norwalk met, Norwalk walked away with a sweep. Going up against bigger schools, Eagles Head Coach Rod Blunck knows his team may be at a disadvantage but says that ultimately, he wants his team to compete at their highest level.

The Eagles bowling match with Norwalk begins at 1 pm at Dutch 200 Bowl and Grill.