The road to back-to-back state championships comes to its most important turning point of the winter for Pella in the Class 3A substate playoffs. The #5 Dutch will seek a 3rd straight bid to the final eight of Class 3A against the Raccoon River Conference champions, #6 Winterset.

Both teams have navigated what is arguably the toughest road to Wells Fargo Arena, as on Thursday, Pella knocked off the Huskies’ conference rival #5 Bondurant-Farrar 68-54, while Winterset took an early lead and held on against #9 North Polk 59-52.

Offense won’t be an issue, as Pella has the 3rd best scoring offense in 3A (65.8 per game) and the Huskies are 5th (65 per game). Winterset primarily extends a 2-3 zone and aims to generate turnovers–their 9.8 steals per game ranks as 3rd most in Class 3A, and they spread the ball around as well, leading the class with 20 assists per contest. Seniors Levi Gurwell (17.6 ppg) and Dawson Forgy (11 ppg) lead the way for Winterset.

While Pella chases history and a 19th all-time state tournament appearance, the Huskies are aiming for their 4th ever trip to the final week of the season, and first since 2019, when they placed 3rd.

Coverage of Class 3A substate basketball at Indianola or Pella vs. Winterset begins at 6:30 this evening on 92.1 KRLS.