Photo Courtesy of Troy L. Hugen Photography

The Pella Christian basketball teams welcome long-time rival Des Moines Christian to Eagle Lane Monday night for a non-conference doubleheader.

After falling to 2-13 overall on the season with a 53-43 loss to Oskaloosa Friday night, the Eagles girls basketball squad faces a difficult challenge Monday in a ranked Lions team. The Class 3A #6 ranked Des Moines Christian girls bounced back from a 24-point loss to Pella last Tuesday with a 25-point win over Pleasantville Friday night to improve to 12-3 on the winter.

The boys game features a rematch of last year’s Class 2A Substate 7 Championship game between The Eagles and Lions. Pella Christian dominated the substate game last year 54-32 to qualify for the State Tournament for the 16th time in 32 years. With a tough contest against a Lions squad looking to avenge that loss, Eagles head coach J.D. Boer is excited for the matchup.

“What I love about our schedule is, it feels like every time we hit the floor it feels like a big game. So, you’re playing Des Moines Christian on a Monday night, you know, it’s a little bit of a rivalry factor. Obviously, two programs who have had a lot of success in 2A. But for us it’s like, all right, you know, here we go. We’ve been through this before. We’re going to be ready to go and I’m excited for that one.”

Coverage of Monday’s basketball doubleheader between Pella Christian and Des Moines Christian can be heard live on 92.1 KRLS and viewed on the Pella Christian YouTube Channel, beginning with pregame for the girls game at 6 p.m.