The Pella girls basketball squad put up a solid effort against Ballard in last night’s season-opener, but ultimately the top-rated Bombers were too much for the Lady Dutch, as Pella fell 52-43. The game was book-ended by strong first and fourth quarters for Pella, though, as the Lady Dutch held a 13-8 advantage at the end of the first quarter and out-hustled the Bombers in the final period to battle back from a 17-point deficit. Pella Head Coach Jerod Garland said the season opener certainly had its ups and downs.

“There were a lot of ebbs and flows to tonight, and there were some things that we were really pleased about – foremost being the effort and the lack of quit in the girls,” said Garland. “They had a chance to hang their heads in the fourth quarter when we were having trouble putting the ball in the basket, but they kept fighting. So I’m really happy with how we fought, and at the same time, disappointed we lost. We wanted to win this game.”

Ballard gained the advantage it needed with some strong scoring runs in the second and third quarters, led by stand-out Taylor Greenfield, who finished the night with 23 points to lead all scorers. The scoring distribution for the Lady Dutch was much more even, as Whitney Williams finished with 11 points, while teammate Makenzie Vander Molen had nine. The fifth-ranked Pella girls are off through the Thanksgiving holiday, and will return to action next week against Newton.

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