The Indianola and Pella Christian basketball teams split a Little Hawkeye Conference doubleheader that was heard live on 92.1 KRLS and 94.3 KNIA Monday, as the Indians won the girls game 55-46 and the Eagles boys squad was victorious 64-42.
In the opener, the Indianola girls held Pella Christian at bay most of the night. The Indians grabbed a 13-10 lead after the first quarter, before extending their advantage to 25-17 at halftime. After Indianola stretched the lead to 36-27 at the end of the third quarter, the Eagles started to rally. Jessa De Vries scored 10 straight points for Pella Christian and pulled the Eagles within 39-35 early in the fourth quarter, but that was as close as the game would get, as the Indians pulled away for the nine-point win. Indianola’s Alexa Guyer led all scorers in the game with 16 points, while Faith Kacmarynski was Pella Christian’s top scorer with 12. The Indians improved to 3-9 overall on the season and 3-1 in conference play, while the Eagles dropped to 4-8 overall and 1-4 in the league.
The Pella Christian boys led wire-to-wire in the nightcap of the doubleheader, using a 7-0 burst out of the gate to grab the early momentum. The Indians battled back to cut the deficit to 17-13 at the end of the first quarter, and only trailed 32-27 at the intermission. The Eagles pulled away in the second half, extending the advantage to 44-33 at the end of the third quarter, before coasting to the 22-point victory after outscoring Indianola 20-9 in the fourth quarter. Tysen De Vries led Pella Christian and all scorers in the game with 17 points, while Derek Willmott led the Indians in scoring with 13. The Eagle boys improved to 8-2 overall and 4-1 in the conference with the win, while the Indianola boys fell to 0-9 overall and 0-5 in the league with the loss.
The Pella Christian basketball teams are back in action Thursday with a home conference doubleheader against Dallas Center-Grimes. The Indianola basketball teams are off until Friday, when they travel to Newton for a conference doubleheader.