The first rotation of the Little Hawkeye Conference season ends a day early due to impending snow Friday, and does so with the Tulip City basketball teams clashing at Pella High School.

A showdown of state tournament contenders in the nightcap highlights the girls-boys doubleheader as Pella Christian and Pella compete for the first time in the 2021-22 season.

The #3 in 3A Pella boys are white-hot, winning seven in a row since two bumps in the road in December, while the #6 in 2A Eagles boys have bounced back with two conference wins after a rough 4th quarter against #1 in 3A DCG to open the new year last Tuesday. It’s a boys basketball rivalry that’s had a few lopsided affairs — the most recent coming as the Dutch were surging toward a state championship last February, but has otherwise been fairly close. The Pella boys are 25-17 vs. Pella Christian since 2001 and the average margin of victory for the winning team has been eight points since 2016.

Both Tulip City girls teams are seeking a bounce-back — Pella is coming off of back-to-back blowout losses to Top 10 teams in 4A with DCG and Grinnell, while the Eagles girls are mired in an eight-game skid and missed opportunities for victories in their past three matchups with Oskaloosa, Knoxville, and Newton. The all-time girls series heavily favors Pella 24-5 in the Varsity Bound/QuikStats era, although P.C. has won twice in the past six matchups and the average margin of the winning team has been seven points since 2016.

Coverage of Pella vs. Pella Christian basketball begins at 5:45 this evening on 92.1 KRLS and the Pella Dutch Live YouTube channel.