Photo by Lisa Morgan

The lights will be on in the gym at Eagle Lane tonight for the first varsity doubleheader of 2020-21 for Pella Christian, with Albia coming to town.

The Eagles girls are 1-0 and riding high after a 63-53 opening win over No. 8 in 1A Montezuma before Thanksgiving. Senior Allison Van Gorp opened with a dominant 23 point, 18 rebound night, followed by Emma Witzenburg’s 19 points, including three from beyond the arc. Albia’s girls are 0-1, falling to Pekin 46-33.

Pella Christian’s new-look boys have a formidable test when the No. 4 in Class 2A Blue Demons trek into Eagle Lane, with both teams seeking to get a signature win early that could have playoff seeding implications in February.

The Blue Demons have eight of their top nine scorers back from a team that fell to Woodward-Granger in the substate round last season on the same night Pella Christian qualified for their 15th Class 2A tournament in 30 years. The Eagles have just three varsity players and no starters returning to the court, and are under a new head coach for the first time since 1993, as J.D. Boer replaces future Hall of Famer Larry Hessing.

Coverage of Pella Christian vs. Albia begins with the girls, as the pregame show starts at 6 p.m. on the KRLS2 stream at KNIAKRLS.com, with all Eagles home radio broadcasts also featured on the official Pella Christian High School YouTube channel. Andrew Schneider and Wynne Veenstra kick off the Pella Christian basketball season for the 7th consecutive season together.