While it’s only night two of 12 in the Little Hawkeye Conference rotation, the Dutch basketball teams are seeking their first league wins of the winter in Newton. Pella’s girls are trying to build on a three game winning streak and have been off since Saturday; the Dutch boys earned a much needed bounce back Tuesday in a blowout of Fairfield.

History favors the Dutch girls (5-2 overall) against the Cardinals (1-4), who are 31-3 in the Bound/Quikstats era since 2006, including 22 in a row and an average margin of victory of 30 points per contest since 2020. Newton is largely new with their varsity roster, especially as their top player from 2022-23 Sophia Reynolds is recovering from injury in green and white, and could yet return this winter for the Dutch.

While the Pella boys (2-3 overall) have largely dominated the series over the Cardinals, winning 26 of the last 35 matchups, it’s been advantage Newton in the last three games, including a pair of 18 point wins over the Dutch in 2022-23. The Cardinals have four scorers with nine or more points a game, including Nate Lampe, Caden Klein, Caleb Mattes, and Christian Lawson.

Coverage of Pella at Newton basketball begins at 6:00 this evening on 92.1 KRLS.