Pella’s Junior Varsity girls tied for fifth out of eight teams at the PCM Girls Track Invitational Monday.
The Dutch finished with a total of 71 points, tied with Pleasantville for the fifth spot. Pella got four top-three finishes from their athletes, including three in individual events and one team event. The Dutch got second-place finishes from two athletes including Abby Teagarden in the 400 meter dash and Faith Diers in the 800 meter run. Emma Hackett finished third in the shot put with a length of 30’9”. Pella also finished third in the 4×400 meter relay with a time of 4:43.88.
The Dutch’s next meet will be today with a coed track meet at Grinnell. The meet will begin at 4:15 PM.
Pella’s boys basketball team has won the Little Hawkeye Conference championship outright after a 79-59 victory over cross-town rival Pella Christian last night as part of a doubleheader heard live on 92.1 KRLS. Earlier in the night, the Lady Dutch knocked off the Eagle girls 44-40.
In the nightcap, Pella led just 41-39 midway through the fourth quarter, but outscored the Eagles 38-20 the rest of the way, making five three pointers in the third quarter to pull away.
The Little Dutch made five more three-pointers in the fourth quarter to squelch even a threat of a Pella Christian comeback. The win wraps up a 13-1 conference season for coach Derek Schulte’s squad.
A trio of three seniors is trying to push the Pella girls basketball team to heights they haven’t seen since the spring of 2017.
Seniors Madison Naig, Faith Diers, and Annika Peterson are all multiple year starters with their eyes on getting the Lady Dutch back to the state tournament after several close calls over the past few seasons.
The trio grew up playing basketball together, and say that chemistry allows them to have success on the court and create a fun environment for their underclass athletes.
“We’ve been playing together since we were little on AAU, and the thing I’ve taken away the most is just it’s amazing to see their successes,” Diers says. “Annika will make a move on the court and I’ll be like, ‘Ok, she’s been working so hard to get to this point,’ or Madison’s amazing game [against Norwalk]. We’ve pushed each other for so many years and to see each other’s successes is awesome.”
Ankeny holds off Lady Dutch, 54-50 oskaloosa.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from oskaloosa.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A rare opportunity presents itself today as the Pella basketball teams welcome one of the largest schools in Iowa for doubleheader basketball action.
Ankeny makes the trek to the Tulip City in a matchup that otherwise likely wouldn’t happen, as Fairfield needed to cancel due to virtual learning protocols and the Dutch and Hawks found a mutual date, with the Class 4A school seeking additional opponents with several Des Moines metro schools out of action.
In the girls’ varsity opener, 3-2 Pella will face a 1-0 Hawks team coming away with a 71-47 victory over Mason City in their first game of the winter. Pella senior guard Faith Diers looks forward to the opportunity to test themselves outside of the already tough Little Hawkeye Conference against a new team.