It’s been six years since the Pella High girls basketball team has been to the state tournament, and the 8th-ranked Dutch can change that tonight when they host Glenwood in the class 4A region 8 final.

The Dutch are 17-5 overall after Saturday’s 52-30 victory over Winterset, while Glenwood is 15-8 after upsetting 12th-ranked Lewis Central 49-45. The Rams have made the state tournament each of the last three seasons, making the quarterfinals last season after two straight trips to the title game in 2020 and 2021.

Expect a fast paced and potentially high scoring game. Both teams are in the top 15 in class 4A in points per game and in the top five in shots per game. Second-year Pella coach Blaine Forsythe says that’s going to make their effort on the defensive end even more critical.

“We want to continue to play our style with a lot of chaos, whether that be in the full court or just switching up defenses to create confusion”, Forsythe said. “We know that Glenwood has Jenna Hopp, one of the state’s leading scorers, so we need to find ways to make it difficult for her to score. We know we’re not going to hold her to five points or anything like that, but we need to make each of those shots difficult and make it a frustrating 32 minutes for her.”

Hopp averages 24 points per game, tops in class 4A and tied for fifth best overall in the state. That’s nearly double Pella’s leading scorer, Kylie Tauke, who averages 12.5 points per game, but the Dutch hope that their balance is a strength. Six players average five points or more per game and Pella’s rotation is regularly eight deep.

Tonight’s game will tip off at 7:00 and can be heard live on 92.1 KRLS and viewed on the Pella Dutch Live YouTube channel. Trevor Castle and Phil Hemming will call the action, beginning with pregame at 6:30.

FULL INTERVIEW FROM AALIYAH RIDDICK AFTER WINTERSET: