Pella Christian’s girls snapped a long losing streak against the Lady Dutch, and the Pella boys hung on after an Eagles second half comeback charge in a Tulip City basketball doubleheader heard live on 92.1 KRLS.
Pella Christian’s girls won 60-49, while the Little Dutch held off the Eagles 62-58.
In game one, Pella Christian jumped to an 18-8 lead by dominating the first quarter, but Pella clawed back, and claimed their first lead 33-29 on a 7-2 run to open the 3rd quarter.
The Eagles fired back with a 17-5 run to close the period, and Pella didn’t back to closer than a two-possession game the rest of the duration. Pella Christian Head Coach Brad Engbers tells KRLS Sports after all the recent losses to Pella and being an 0-3 team, it could have been easy for P.C. to rollover when they fell down, but he’s excited about how they responded to the run from the Lady Dutch.
“That was the no-quit attitude that they had in that 3rd quarter,” Engbers says. “We could have just rolled over and said, ‘here we go again,’ but [we had] great leadership on the floor from our seniors.”
Isabella Baugh dominated the final two quarters, scoring 14 of her 18 points, collecting eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Emma Huisman added 15 points, four steals, and six rebounds, including four from the offensive glass. Pella’s Emily Holterhaus stuffed the scorebook with 17 points, eight rebounds, three steals, and three blocks. The Eagles are now 1-3, while the Lady Dutch are 1-2.
In the nightcap, the Little Dutch roared to a 36-20 lead by halftime, with seven different players scoring in the first two quarters.
Pella Christian fought back to bring the game to within one at 54-43 before halfway through the fourth quarter, but Pella’s clutch foul shooting proved to be a key difference. Little Dutch Head Coach Derek Schulte tells KRLS Sports unlike Tuesday’s heartbreaker against Gilbert, his team made enough key stops to keep P.C. from taking the lead.
“I think they had cut it to one, there was a timeout, and we were able to come out and execute on the offensive end, and get a basket inside to push it to three, and then go down and make a stop, and then push it back to a double-possession lead,” Schulte recalls.
Pella’s Nick DeJong scored 18 and collected nine rebounds; Josh Van Gorp of P.C. scored 15 and blocked five shots. The Eagles shot just 4 of 14 from the charity stripe, compared to 12 of 15 for Pella. The Little Dutch and Eagles both evened their records to 1-1. Pella Christian turns around to host PCM Monday for a boys-girls twin bill, while Pella travels to Ballard Tuesday night for a doubleheader, and both can be heard on 92.1 KRLS.
