Making up a pair of non-conference games that was supposed to be played Monday night, the Pella Christian basketball teams swept Knoxville Thursday night in a doubleheader heard live on 92.1 KRLS and 95.3 KNIA.

A stifling defensive effort propelled the Eagle girls past the Panthers for a 55-46 victory in the opening game of the twinbill. Using a full court press, Pella Christian forced 16 Knoxville turnovers in the first half, and took a 30-20 lead into halftime, after Chloe Snyder knocked down a three pointer at the second quarter buzzer. The Eagles extended the lead to 40-28 heading into the final quarter, before wrapping up the nine-point victory. Pella Christian’s Kacmarynski sisters each posted double-doubles in the win, with older sister Faith posting 15 points and 10 rebounds and younger sister Rachel recording 10 points and 12 rebounds. Brittany Bacorn led all scorers in the game with 20 points, while Hannah Dunkin added 15 points for the Panthers.

In the nightcap of the doubleheader, the Pella Christian boys used a big first half to down Knoxville 62-49. The Panthers took an early 7-5 lead in the first quarter, but the Eagles ended the period on a 12-3 run to grab a 17-10 lead heading into the second. Pella Christian extended the lead to 36-21 by halftime, and despite Knoxville winning the second half 28-26, the Eagles completed the sweep. Pella Christian’s Dane Geetings led all scorers with 20 points, while Tysen De Vries added 13. Kaiden Smith was the Panthers top scorer in the loss with nine points. Knoxville Boys Coach Troy Pearson said that his team needs to be better to have a chance to beat teams like Pella Christian.

“We’re kind of past that point of being close to beating teams, the kids in the locker room aren’t making any excuses, we just need to pass better, shoot better, and do better overall.”

With their wins the Pella Christian girls improved to 4-7, while the Eagle boys improved to 7-2 overall. The Knoxville girls fell to 5-5 overall on the year, while the Panther boys dropped to 7-3. The Pella Christian boys return to Eagle Lane Monday for another non-conference game against Pekin, while the girls are scheduled to be off until Thursday’s doubleheader against Dallas Center-Grimes. The Knoxville basketball teams are off until Tuesday, when they travel to Davis County for a South Central Conference doubleheader.