Trailing for 31 minutes and 42 seconds, a late lay-up by Tessa Howerzyl as heard on 92.1 KRLS last night gave her Pella Christian girls’ basketball team their first lead over West Marshall, which the Eagles held onto for a 46 – 43 win in the quarterfinals of the Class 2A regional tournament. The Trojans had a nine-point lead on two separate occasions, with opportunities to spread it to double-digits, but the Eagles kept hanging around, even when down by seven with under two minutes left in the game. Coach Kevin Van Maanen says his bench and a little defensive tweak paid big dividends for his team. Howerzyl scored 17 points, 14 of which came in the second half, and 11 of those in the fourth quarter. Marina Shannon also came up huge, with ten points, including four clutch free throws down the stretch. The Eagles are now 13 – 10 on the season, and they head to Urbandale on Friday to take on Des Moines Christian in the regional semifinals.