With the Little Hawkeye Conference taking a night off tonight before starting the second round-robin on Friday, Pella’s basketball teams are stepping out of the league for a doubleheader at Des Moines Christian.

It’s another marquee matchup for the defending champion Dutch boys, and a chance at a small dose of revenge from a season ago, as the Lions were one of just two teams to beat Pella last year. The Dutch are currently ranked fourth in class 3A, while DMC is ranked fifth in 2A. and both teams are 10-2. Pella coach Derek Schulte expects the Lions to give his team everything it can handle.

“They had a basketball with a chance to beat DCG at their place earlier in the year.  I think says all that you need to know about Des Moines Christian, plus what they did to us last year. It’ll be a great challenge for us, but it does truly test us for the tournament. Hopefully being battle tested is something that will be a big advantage for us down the stretch.”

The girls game also features two teams with identical records, as both clubs come in at 8-4. DMC is 7-0 in conference play, while the Dutch are 4-3 at the halfway point of the more challenging Little Hawkeye Conference.

Tonight’s doubleheader start at 6:30 at Des Moines Christian, and Trevor Castle and Phil Hemming will call the action on 92.1 KRLS, beginning with pregame at 6:15.