The Knoxville and Pella Christian Basketball Squads will turn their attention to each other tonight on Eagle Lane as the Panthers and Eagles clash for their only meeting of the season. The girls game will feature two young teams that will play several freshmen. For Knoxville Abbie Keitges and Addy Dunkin have been starting with Siena Scott coming off the bench. The Eagles will counter with freshmen of their own including Rachel Kacmarynski, who leads Pella Christian in scoring at 9.8 points per game. She along with her older sister Faith score nearly 19 of the teams nearly 45 points per game. Knoxville Coach Matt Ritchhart tells KNIA/KRLS the Eagles like to feed off their press and many of the freshmen on Pella Christian’s roster do contribute.

Ritchhart: “They’ll press us, they like to get up and down off the press. They play 3-5 freshmen at any time as well, and a new coach, so he’s getting his system in as well.”

The boys game will be a battle of Pella Christian’s length and Knoxville’s ability to create shots nearly everywhere. The Panthers used defense and timely shooting to defeat Albia on Friday, while Pella Christian used a huge 3rd quarter to boost its victory over cross-town rival Pella. Eagles Coach J.D. Boer tells KNIA/KRLS Sports, Knoxville will provide a challenge that requires his team to be aware of everyone on the court.

Boer: “Man, Knoxville is a tough team. They’ve got a lot of different ways to score the basketball, they’ve got a bunch of dudes and can make some plays, so that’s gonna be a great challenge for us. We’ll be excited to get back home in front of our home crowd, but those guys can play some ball, and we’re gonna have to be ready to go.”

Live coverage can be heard on both 92.1 KRLS and Pella Christian You Tube with the Pella Christian perspective and 95.3 KNIA with the Knoxville perspective, the girls game is set to tip off at 6:15.