The start of Little Hawkeye Conference play is less than a week away for the Pella High girls basketball team, and this year’s league race is expected to be very tight from top to bottom.  

Lady Dutch head coach Jerod Garland says Pella Christian appears to be the favorite to lead the pack, as the Lady Eagles return a number of key players from a team that made it all the way to last year’s State Tournament.  Garland says Norwalk won’t be far behind, and acknowledges that every other team in the league seems better than last season.  

The Pella girls open the Little Hawkeye Conference schedule next Tuesday, but first, they’ll face Mount Pleasant this Saturday in non-conference play.