The Norwalk and Pella Christian basketball teams return to Little Hawkeye Conference play tonight in Norwalk, tipping off a girl-boy varsity doubleheader at 6:15 on 92.1 KRLS. Pregame coverage starts at 5:45 with Trevor Castle and Mike Oeffner on the call.

The girls game will feature the Class 4A third-ranked Warriors trying to extend their perfect start to 7-0 on the heels of a 6-16 record last season. After scoring at least 60 points in each of their first five games, the Warriors relied on strong defense to beat Winterset 39-31 on Monday night. 

The Pella Christian girls (1-4 overall) are seeking their first win in the conference tonight after falling to Oskaloosa last Friday. The Eagles won on Norwalk’s home floor last season, 46-38, to earn a split in the season series.

The boys game is a great one on paper, matching two programs that ended last season at the State Tournament. Pella Christian narrowly lost to eventual Class 2A champion Central Lyon in the semifinals while Norwalk lost to eventual 4A champion West Des Moines Valley in the quarterfinal round.

The Eagles put their unbeaten 3-0 record on the line tonight after picking up double-digit wins over Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, Oskaloosa and PCM. Going into yet another tough conference match, Pella Christian head coach JD Boer knows that his team will be challenged tonight.

“The schedule that we play, we’re going to be tested all the time,” he said. “I told the guys earlier this week, if we don’t keep ourselves honest, the schedule will do it for us. I mean it’ll keep us honest as we go, because there’s no easy outs here in the Little Hawkeye Conference.”

Since opening the season with a loss to Ballard, the Norwalk boys have responded with back-to-back wins over Pella and Winterset behind 50 points from star guard Redek Born. Warriors’ head coach Aaron Pelzer expects a fun atmosphere and a tough opponent tonight.

“Oh, they’re going to be good, for sure,” Pelzer said of the Eagles following Monday’s win. “We just talked in the locker room about how tonight was great. I’m glad we got better, I’m glad we played well, but Friday night – those types of games are why you play. I’m expecting it to be packed and loud and fun, and it will be a great experience.”

Norwalk swept last year’s season series vs. Pella Christian with wins of 54-40 and 67-51. Pelzer adds that controlling the defensive boards and not allowing too many second chance points will be a huge key tonight against a much taller opponent.