A pair of state qualifying teams from a season ago await the Pella basketball teams in the opening doubleheader of the winter season tonight in Alleman. The Dutch girls will take on #5 North Polk, while the boys begin their season against a Comets team that made it to the 3A semifinals this past spring.

For the Pella girls, it will be the first real test of their own state tournament aspirations after two cruise control wins over Atlantic and Mt. Pleasant in commanding fashion. North Polk’s girls fell in a 2023 4A state championship rematch to #1 DCG in their season opener. The Comets lost three key seniors from the finalist squad, with top returners Abby Tuttle (11.2 points per game) and Becca Aagard (4.8 points per game) entering their junior seasons. North Polk has won six matchups in a row against Pella dating back to 2017.

The Dutch boys are also aiming to elevate their status in Class 3A, and will try to do so against a Comets team that knocked off the green and white for the first time a year ago 57-49. The Comets were a senior heavy team, with four of their five top scorers from last winter graduating. Reggie Postel leads the way as a second-team All-State selection from last winter, averaging 13 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest last winter.

Coverage of the Dutch opening doubleheader in Alleman will begin at 5:45 this evening on the KRLS2 stream at KNIAKRLS.com.

Also in action today is the Pella girls wrestling team at Pleasantville.