The first portion of the 2024-25 winter season came to a close with the Pella basketball teams sweeping Newton for their first conference wins of the year.
Pella’s 10th-ranked girls won 75-47, while the boys held on after several Cardinal pushes to win 62-57, as both were heard live on 92.1 KRLS Friday.
The Dutch girls fell behind 4-0, only to hit a 13-0 run that fueled the eventually lopsided victory. Kamryn Long led the way with 21 points, which included a nine-consecutive point stretch of her own in the 2nd quarter. Katie Scheckel tacked on 13 points and Jenna Oltman added nine.
Head Coach Blaine Forsythe says, “We liked the energy, the effort, and how unselfish we were. Over half of our made shots were assisted, we forced 20+ turnovers, and we won the rebounding battle. It was a great end to the first half of the season and we are excited about the opportunities ahead. Kamryn Long had a big game for us in her best offensive game of the season and her teammates did a great job of putting her in positions to play to her strengths.”
In the nightcap of the doubleheader, the Pella boys came roaring out of the gates, eventually building an 18-point advantage early in the 2nd quarter. But Newton started forcing turnovers to climb back in with a 19-5 stretch to close into halftime. Pella overcame 20 turnovers to just 11 assists to hang on and never trailed in the game despite several close calls, as the Cardinals pulled the game within one possession multiple times in the 2nd half.
Brayden Traetow paced the Dutch with 14 points, followed by 11 from Jack McGuire and 10 from Teagan Hoekstra.
The Pella girls basketball team heads into winter break at 7-2 overall and 1-1 in the Little Hawkeye Conference, the boys are up to 4-2 and have the same even league record.