Both Pella Christian basketball teams started 2019 with convincing wins over Newton Friday night in a doubleheader heard live on 92.1 KRLS. The Eagle girls won 64-43, while the boys won 91-51.

In the girls game, Pella Christian used a 12-0 run to turn a 12-9 deficit near the end of the first quarter to a 21-12 lead early in the second. The advantage ballooned to 11 at halftime, 22 at the end of the third, and as many as 31 in the fourth quarter. Coach Brad Engbers says that the offensive success started with hard work on the other end of the floor.

“We put in a new full court defense that we’ve been toying with and we wanted to open the second half of the season with that. We saw some good success, we didn’t give up a whole lot of layups out of it and we got some steals. That was something that was really positive and added a lot of energy for us tonight.”

Emma Huisman scored 16 of her game high 19 points in the first half, Allison Van Gorp scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and Chloe Morgan chipped in 10 points. The Pella Christian girls are now 5-6 overall and 3-3 in the Little Hawkeye Conference.

P.C.’s boys jumped out to a 12-0 lead and never looked back, putting the running clock on midway through the third quarter.

Five players scored in double figures – Brett Roose with 14, Josh Van Gorp with 12, Jake Pringle and Dan Jungling with 11 each, and Keean Cadwell with 10. The Eagles are now 5-4 overall and 2-4 in the LHC.

Up next for both Pella Christian squads is a doubleheader against Knoxville on Monday night.