Pella’s girls jumped out to a 20-0 lead en route to a 63-29 victory over Newton, while the Cardinal boys flipped the script with a 16-0 start and 54-36 win over the Dutch boys in a basketball doubleheader heard live last night on KRLS2.

The Dutch girls buried four three pointers and committed just one turnover in the game opening barrage, and after Newton settled in, it was a 34-15 halftime advantage for Pella. They jumped out of the blocks quick in the third quarter as well, outscoring the Cardinals 21-6 and putting the running clock into effect. Coach Blaine Forsythe says that the start to both halves was key.

“Coming out and putting up over 20 points in both of those quarters was huge. Our first and third quarters have been our slow quarters this year, so to be able to come out and minimize turnovers and dominate the boards was a huge step in the right direction for our girls.”

Kylie Tauke led the way with 15 points and both Mia Warner and Hailey Van Van Vark chipped in 10, with Van Vark adding a team high seven rebounds and Warner collecting four steals.

In the boys game, Newton led 19-2 after the first quarter before Pella found some offense from the outside and closed the gap to 25-17 at halftime. The Dutch then scored the first five points of the third quarter and had possession with a chance to tie, but the Cardinals regained momentum and pulled away for the victory.

Trey Van Hauen led Pella with nine points, all on second quarter three-pointers.

The Dutch boys fall to 4-2 and 2-1 in the Little Hawkeye Conference, while Pella’s girls are 5-2 and also 2-1 in league play. The girls will play at Knoxville Tuesday night, while the boys are off until the next conference doubleheader on January 3rd at Oskaloosa.