An intense Pella Christian defense prevented Albia from even getting off a shot in their first four possessions, while the Lady Eagles opened up a 9-0 lead early in what served as significant foreshadowing in a 70-20 drubbing of the Lady Dees in the opening round of the Class 2A Regional Tournament Saturday night at Pella Christian High School.

Up 22-4 through the first quarter of play, the Pella Christian girls opened up a 44-7 lead by halftime and had grown their lead to 50 points by the start of the final stanza. The Lady Eagles forced Albia into 30 turnovers and dominated the battle on the boards, holding a 35-21 rebounding advantage. On the offensive end, Pella Christian spread the wealth, putting nine players in the scorebook with at least three points. Jasmin Schelhaas, Tayler Stursma and Paige Engbers each scored 12 points to pace the offense, with Schelhaas knocking down 4-of-5 three-pointers. Sami Veenstra had a game-high 12 rebounds, including 7 on the offensive end.

The victory puts the Pella Christian girls at 17-3 on the season and moves them to the second round of the Region 5 tournament, where they’ll host Eddyville-Blakesburg on Tuesday night. The Rockets defeated Pekin 75-55 in their opening round match-up.