Pella Christian saw a double-digit second-half lead erased, but persevered for a 46-42 win over Van Meter in a girls basketball contest heard live last night on 92.1 KRLS.

The Eagles turned the ball over 11 times in the first quarter, but trailed by only two (11-9) before erupting for a 13-3 second quarter advantage and a 22-14 halftime lead. It reached double figures in the third quarter and was still 37-26 going to the fourth before the Bulldogs charged back to tie the game at 42-42.

In the closing moments, Rachel Kacmarynski nailed a 12-foot jumper and Chloe Nikkel grabbed a rebound off a Van Meter miss before knocking down two free throws for the final margin. Faith Kacmarynski says it was nice to put one away after losing in a similar type game last week.

“Last Friday against Osky we lost in a close one. We were up by nine going into the fourth quarter, and it was kind of the same thing tonight. We didn’t pull it out last Friday, but we did tonight and that was awesome to get over that hump that we couldn’t get over last week.”

Jessa DeVries nailed three three-pointers and led Pella Christian with 11 points while Rachel Kacmarynski added 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Eagles improve to 2-4 on the season and will join the boys for a Little Hawkeye Conference doubleheader tonight at Norwalk on 92.1 KRLS.