The Pella Christian and PCM basketball teams renewed the Highway 163 rivalry Monday night and the Mustangs’ girls cruised to a 61-40 win while the Eagles’ boys dominated in a 67-38 victory, with both games heard live on 92.1 KRLS.

The PCM girls took control early in the opening game of the doubleheader, racing out to a 21-4 lead in the first six minutes of the first quarter. The Eagles cut the deficit to 23-10 by the end of the period, but another 9-3 run by the Mustangs pushed the lead back to 19 halfway through the second quarter. Pella Christian cut the lead to 33-18 by halftime and outscored PCM 14-7 in the third quarter to pull within seven, but that was as close as the Eagles would get as the Mustangs closed the game with a 21-8 run to even their record at .500. PCM senior Paige Steenhoek led all scorers in the game with 17 points, with Tori Lindsay and Addison Steenhoek not far behind with 16 and 12 points respectively. Anna Eveland was the lone Eagle to reach double figure scoring in the game with 10 points. 

In the nightcap of the doubleheader, the first quarter was a defensive battle between Pella Christian and PCM, as the Eagles held a slim 11-5 lead at the end of the period. That changed in the second quarter, as the Eagles outscored the Mustangs 26-16 to take a 37-21 lead into the intermission. The second half belong to Pella Christian as they outscored PCM 30-17 to coast to the 67-38 victory. It was a balanced scoring attack all night long for the Eagles, as 11 of their 12 players scored in the victory, led by seniors Isaac Kacmarynski and Aiden Stoltz with 11 points each. PCM sophomore Gavin Van Gorp was the game’s top scorer with 14 points, while senior Grant Van Veen also had 11.

The PCM girls improved to 2-2 overall on the season, while the boys fell to 1-2 overall and both squads will have a quick turnaround traveling to Saydel tonight for a doubleheader beginning at 6 p.m. 

The Pella Christian girls dropped to 0-4 overall on the year, while the boys improved to 2-1 overall. The Eagles’ girls team is off until Thursday when they travel to Van Meter for a single game at 7:15 p.m., and the boys next return to action Friday for a home conference doubleheader vs Norwalk.