A very good Little Hawkeye Conference gets even better this year in girls basketball with the addition of 5-A heavyweight Indianola.

Pella won the league last year with an 11-1 conference record, but the Indians, who made the state tournament in March, are an instant contender to Jerod Garland’s Lady Dutch.

“I expect them to be probably a top three 5-A team. They’ve got two division one players and added two move-ins who are very, very talented that they didn’t really need. The other teams that you can’t overlook are Grinnell, who’s always had a lot of talent and has taken our best efforts to get them, and D-C-G brings back a couple of really nice players.”

As always, Pella Christian is the smallest school in the league battling teams two and three classes larger.

Coach Kevin Van Maanen sees it as a deep and talented conference, but he thinks the newcomer Indians and defending champion Lady Dutch are the teams to beat.

“Indianola and Pella are probably the cream of the crop, as I see it. Not taking anything away from Grinnell or D-C-G, but just looking at it, those two teams are looking really tough right now.”

Opening night in the Little Hawkeye Conference is tomorrow. Pella Christian will host Oskaloosa, while across town, Pella entertains Grinnell.