The first of two Tulip City basketball showdowns highlight this evening’s action in the Little Hawkeye Conference as the Dutch trek to Eagle Lane for a girls-boys doubleheader.

In the girls matchup, the Pella girls (6-2 overall, 3-1 in the LHC) are coming in with a strong surge — leaping into the IGHSAU rankings for the first time this winter at #15 and having won their last four games by at least 17 points or more, including a 62-42 win over Oskaloosa Tuesday. The Eagles girls (1-8, 0-4 in the LHC) have dropped four in a row since their lone win of the season thus far, including a pair of nail biters with North Mahaska and Newton that were three point losses.

For the nightcap, a pair of new look teams to start the season have started to find their identities, as the defensive-minded Dutch (5-2 overall, 3-1 in the LHC) continued their success at scoring prevention against Oskaloosa Tuesday in a 62-44 win, while the Eagles (4-3 overall, 2-2 in the LHC) fell to a tough Newton team on the road 50-42 to start the new year after ending the 2022 portion of the calendar with a signature win over then-ranked in Class 2A Wilton on the road.

The Dutch lead the girls series 26-5 since 2006, including three consecutive victories, while the Pella boys are ahead 25-16 since 2001 — having won five in a row against P.C.

Coverage of Pella vs. Pella Christian basketball on Eagle Lane begins at 5:45 this evening on 92.1 KRLS and the Pella Christian YouTube stream.