A second round of Pella High School Athletes has signed on to compete at the next level.
Six additional members of the Class of 2021 celebrated moving on to college at a ceremony held at Pella High School Wednesday afternoon.
The following individuals were recognized (name above photo):
Kody Huisman, North Dakota State Football
Tune into the Wednesday, May 13th and Thursday, May 14th editions of the KNIA/KRLS Radio Sports Page to hear full interviews from the athletes who participated in this week’s Pella High School signing day celebration (Huisman was instead featured on this week’s shows for his Drake Relays Shot Put Championship).
The Iowa Basketball Coaches Association has announced the rosters for the 2021 Pizza Ranch All-Star Game, and several area athletes have made the lineups.
From Pella High School, Madison Naig and Grant Nelson were named on the SE Iowa Girls and Boys teams respectively. Naig was a unanimous All-Little Hawkeye Conference selection this winter, while Nelson enters the state tournament with the most three-pointers made in Class 3A with 79.
Both Dutch players will be joined by Knoxville’s Maggie Wilkins and Kieren Nichols as teammates in the elite exhibition games. Wilkins scored 23.8 points per contest, which ranked 5th best among all girls basketball players this winter, while Nichols averaged 19.8 points per contest for the Panthers, 5th best in Class 3A.
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.
One night after finding difficulty on Eagle Lane, the Pella basketball teams used explosive first quarters to get to a pair of continuous clock wins over PCM Saturday, as heard live on 92.1 KRLS.
The Lady Dutch won 70-34, while the Pella boys were 83-52 winners in their home gym. Pella’s girls were searching for a way to snap a three-game losing streak that included a pair of gut punches against Grinnell and Pella Christian; a 26-9 opening quarter led to a 45-15 halftime margin. Madison Naig scored 21 of her 26 in the first 16 minutes, and Reagan Van Wyk added 14 points and six rebounds for the green and white. Lilli Baird scored 13 for PCM.
When most teams decided to pack it in, the Tulip City showdown went on as scheduled, and from it, a couple of great games between the rivals were featured on 92.1 KRLS Friday night.
Pella Christian’s girls knocked off the Lady Dutch 48-43, while the No. 1 in 3A Pella boys survived a 2nd half surge from the Eagles 56-52.
The opener between the girls’ teams never saw either team lead by more than two possessions, and after an early six-point Pella advantage and the Eagles’ final margin in the final 20 seconds, it was only a one-possession game for either school with each swinging the game back and forth throughout the vast majority of the matchup.