A pair of strong defensive efforts gave plenty of room for the Pella basketball teams against Newton, with a 73-25 girls win and 69-55 boys victory Friday, both heard on the KRLS2 stream.

The opener featured a similar formula to the No. 14 in 4A Dutch girls’ matchup against Washington — a 16-2 run to start and a turnover-free first 13 minutes allowing them to pad their lead. A similarly strong run out of the gates in the 3rd quarter pushed Pella to the continuous clock mercy rule for the majority of the 2nd half. Pella Head Coach Blaine Forsythe was excited to see his team flex their defensive muscle at home — collecting 20 total steals.

A balanced scoresheet came from the Pella offense, with Kennedy Van Vark scoring 12 points and Kylie Tauke and Anna Vander Waal each adding 11.

On Tuesday, the No. 7 Pella boys were fueled by their offense, but against Newton, the defense was the key to their grind-it-out win. With a 34-25 rebounding advantage, the Dutch used those extra possessions on both ends of the floor and attacked the paint early and often, forcing several fouls in both halves. Pella never trailed the Cardinals and at one point led by 23 in the 4th quarter before some late lapses allowed the Cardinals to make a small run to narrow the margin.

Keegan Hansen finished with a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Parker Elder added 13 points. Pella tallied 14 offensive rebounds in the effort, and had six players score eight or more points.

Pella’s girls are now 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the LHC, while the Dutch boys are 4-2 and have won back-to-back games after dropping both contests last week. Both host the final game of 2021 before winter break Tuesday vs. Knoxville.