Pella heads to Newton tonight for the final doubleheader of the calendar year and the final action before break for the Dutch boys.

In the girls contest, Pella comes in with a 4-2 record and 1-1 mark in the Little Hawkeye Conference, while Newton is 2-2 and 0-2. The Cardinal boys are 1-2 overall and 1-1 in the league, while the Dutch are 4-1 and 2-0. With a win tonight, Derek Schulte’s club would head for the holidays tied for first place in the LHC, but he says it won’t be easy.

“They’re an excellent basketball team. I think a preseason coaches poll would have had Indianola at the top and then Norwalk and Newton right there on the two line because they return so much. They lose Mattes, but they return everybody else. They got a good win at DCG last Friday. It’s a good rivalry, it’s going to be intense, it’s going to be physical and it might be a little chippy.”

Opening tip of the girls game is tonight at 6:15 at Newton High School. Trevor Castle and Phil Hemming will call the action on the KRLS2 stream at www.kniakrls.com.