It was a steady debut for the Pella girls basketball team in a 51-37 victory over Mount Pleasant in the 2022-23 season opener Tuesday.

The Dutch never trailed, but did not pull away until late against the Panthers, who they’ve now defeated eight seasons in a row to open the new calendar.

Kennedy Van Vark was fantastic to start her junior campaign, scoring 20 points on 6-of-8 three point shooting, followed by 11 points from senior Kylie Tauke. Pella collected 14 steals defensively.

Head Coach Blaine Forsythe:
“Basketball is a game of runs and that was evident tonight. A lot of our players are playing in a new role so we knew there were going to be bumps along the way. We jumped out to an early lead and each time Mount Pleasant went on a run we were able to weather it and extend it back to around 10 points. We stuck with our game plan and that allowed our players to play to their strengths. Late in the game we hit big shots and took care of the basketball. By the 4th quarter we were playing our best basketball. I am proud of the effort that our players played with and how they responded to adversity throughout the game. There are a lot of positives that we will be able to take from tonight and opportunities to grow.”

The Dutch improve to 1-0 and host North Polk as part of the boys-girls doubleheader Tuesday, which will air on 92.1 KRLS.

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Pella’s girls wrestlers joined several others from central Iowa in Norwalk as the new sport finds its footing with the new winter sports season underway.

Elaine Babcock, Andie Branson, and Emmalee Spurgeon all went 2-0 with two pins and were bracket champions. Anna German went 1-1 and won her bracket based on having the fastest fall.

“Overall, we saw a lot of improvement from last week, especially in areas that we addressed in the room. It’s encouraging to see the girls respond to the feedback we’re giving them,” said Head Coach Adam Hale. “We’ve been really happy with the level of competition we’ve seen at meets so far. There are great matches for our brand new wrestlers and our returners. Everyone is getting stretched and pushed. It’s giving us a great opportunity to learn about the tough, gritty side of wrestling and then bring that back into our room with a better feel for the sport. That allows us to keep building up the intensity as we practice.”

Pella continues the girls wrestling season at Newton on Saturday, December 3rd.

Full results from TrackWrestling:
Hailey Mackey’s place is 2nd and has scored 4.0 team points.
Round 2 – Hailey Mackey (Pella) won by fall over Kaylee Oxley (Nevada) (Fall 3:09)
Round 3 – Alysse Ivanovich (Norwalk) won by fall over Hailey Mackey (Pella) (Fall 1:12)

Isabella Smith’s place is 3rd and has scored 0.0 team points.
Round 1 – Gracie Waage (Dallas Center-Grimes) won by fall over Isabella Smith (Pella) (Fall 1:01)
Round 3 – Miah Huff (Nevada) won by fall over Isabella Smith (Pella) (Fall 1:10)

Lorin Mart’s place is 3rd and has scored 0.0 team points.
Round 1 – Marin Stutsman (Carlisle) won by fall over Lorin Mart (Pella) (Fall 1:18)
Round 3 – Olivia Rausch (Colfax-Mingo) won by fall over Lorin Mart (Pella) (Fall 1:06)

Anna German’s place is 1st and has scored 7.0 team points.
Round 1 – Nevaeh Ryan (Saydel) won by fall over Anna German (Pella) (Fall 1:16)
Round 3 – Anna German (Pella) won by fall over Olivia Kritzler (Norwalk) (Fall 0:32)

Jasey Olson’s place is 3rd and has scored 0.0 team points.
Round 1 – Asia Jahangir (Dallas Center-Grimes) won by fall over Jasey Olson (Pella) (Fall 2:49)
Round 2 – Summer Wolff (Indianola) won by fall over Jasey Olson (Pella) (Fall 1:41)

Elizabeth Thomas’s place is 2nd and has scored 4.0 team points.
Round 1 – Elizabeth Thomas (Pella) won by fall over Emily Henigan (Dallas Center-Grimes) (Fall 1:43)
Round 3 – Chloe Etten (BGM, Brooklyn) won by fall over Elizabeth Thomas (Pella) (Fall 0:39)

Ellison Ritzert’s place is 3rd and has scored 0.0 team points.
Round 1 – McKayla Silbaugh (Boone) won by fall over Ellison Ritzert (Pella) (Fall 5:41)
Round 2 – Sarah Henrici (Dallas Center-Grimes) won by fall over Ellison Ritzert (Pella) (Fall 1:23)

Emmalee Spurgeon’s place is 1st and has scored 9.0 team points.
Round 1 – Emmalee Spurgeon (Pella) won by fall over Sophie Davis (Norwalk) (Fall 1:32)
Round 2 – Emmalee Spurgeon (Pella) won by fall over Kamryn Faas (Ames) (Fall 1:25)

Andie Branson’s place is 1st and has scored 9.0 team points.
Round 1 – Andie Branson (Pella) won by fall over Sydney Barker (Indianola) (Fall 0:24)
Round 2 – Andie Branson (Pella) won by fall over Kamryn McWilliams (Norwalk) (Fall 2:56)

Elaine Babcock’s place is 1st and has scored 9.0 team points.
Round 1 – Elaine Babcock (Pella) won by fall over Sam Bussanmas (Norwalk) (Fall 2:47)
Round 2 – Elaine Babcock (Pella) won by fall over Cassie Brown (Carlisle) (Fall 0:52)

Meav Swank’s place is 2nd and has scored 4.0 team points.
Round 1 – Cadence Heggen (Boone) won by fall over Meav Swank (Pella) (Fall 2:19)
Round 3 – Meav Swank (Pella) won by fall over Kaydence Andersen (Colfax-Mingo) (Fall 1:47)

Lissbeth Rosenstein’s place is 3rd and has scored 9.0 team points.
Round 1 – Clara Carpenter (Boone) won by fall over Lissbeth Rosenstein (Pella) (Fall 0:47)
Round 2 – Abigail Slater (BGM, Brooklyn) won by fall over Lissbeth Rosenstein (Pella) (Fall 2:34)
Round 3 – Lissbeth Rosenstein (Pella) won by fall over Madeline Benge (Norwalk) (Fall 1:37)