Pella’s girls routed Fairfield 79-27 while the Dutch boys had a much tougher challenge from the Trojans, holding on for a 52-49 victory in a doubleheader heard live on 92.1 KRLS.

It was the most points scored by the Pella girls in nearly six years. The Dutch jumped out to a 7-0 lead, and with the score 18-8 midway through the first quarter, Pella ripped off a 20-0 run, building a 49-12 halftime lead. Pella forced a whopping 31 turnovers, 22 of them in the first half, and senior Hailey Van Vark says that defense was a big key to the victory.

“We really like the effort that we put into it and all the pressure we were putting on them tonight. I think that comes directly from our practice yesterday. We had a really good practice, and even though we didn’t have the scout boys there, we were able to get it going ourselves and that transferred onto the court tonight.”

Van Vark scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds, part of a 43-22 edge on the glass for the Dutch. Mia Warner led all scorers with 20 and Abby Warner chipped in 11 as the green and white improve to 4-2 on the season.

Pella’s boys grabbed the lead midway through the first quarter, built it up to 10 in the second, saw it slip to two in the third, and held on for a three-point victory. Despite a dominating 46-25 rebounding advantage, the Dutch had to stave off a last second Trojan three-pointer that would have tied the game. Trey Van Hauen, who scored a team-high 16-points, made two free throws after the Fairfield miss to seal the victory. Pella is now 4-1.

Both Dutch teams will travel to Newton for the final Little Hawkeye Conference doubleheader before the holiday break this Friday night.

HAILEY VAN VARK FULL INTERVIEW: