Photo courtesy of Troy L. Hugen Photography

Competing in their first home conference games of the season Friday night, the Pella Christian basketball teams were swept by Norwalk in a doubleheader heard live on 92.1 KRLS. The Eagle girls fell 68-34 in the opening game of the twin bill, while the boys squad was defeated 55-43 in the nightcap.

In the girls game, Pella Christian and the Warriors traded buckets for the opening 3 minutes, and 20 seconds, leading to an 8-8 tie at the 4:40 mark. Norwalk took control of the game from there, using a 16-0 run to end the first quarter and take a 24-8 lead. The Warriors continued to keep the pressure on, outscoring the Eagles 46-23 the rest of the night to drop PC’s record to 3-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play. Chloe Snyder was Pella Christian’s top scorer on the night with eight points, while Faith Kacmarynski and Addie Van Arendonk each had six.

In the nightcap, the Eagle boys found themselves tied with Norwalk at 6-6 midway through the first quarter, but the Warriors went on an 11-2 run to take a 17-8 lead into the second period. Pella Christian answered with a strong eight minutes before halftime, outscoring Norwalk 14-11 to cut the deficit to 28-22 at the intermission. Out of the break, the Warriors used an 8-0 run to push their lead back up to 36-22 just over midway through the third quarter. The Eagles again responded in the final four minutes of the period, as Trey Steinkamp knocked down a trio of three-pointers, including a buzzer-beating three to pull the deficit back down to nine. Pella Christian continued to battle in the fourth quarter, but ultimately fell short to drop to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in conference action. Steinkamp was the lone Eagle to reach double-figures in the loss, scoring all 13 of his points in the second half. 

The Pella Christian basketball teams will have the weekend off, before returning to the court Monday for a home non-conference doubleheader against Des Moines Christian that can be heard live on 92.1 KRLS.