Basketball squads from Knoxville and Pella will renew a rivalry in the Tulip City Monday, this time on Eagle Lane as the Panthers and Eagles get together for a Monday night basketball confrontation. Both of the girls squads have had uneven starts to their respective seasons. The Panthers are coming off a 15 point win over Albia on Friday to even their record at 5-5 while the Eagles fell to Newton. Panthers Coach Matt Ritchhart tells KNIA/KRLS Sports that while Pella Christian has not won a lot of games this season the Little Hawkeye Conference they play in makes them better than what their record is

Ritchhart: “Little Hawkeye with 5 teams in the top 15 and they’re going to get better and with an athlete lilke Joselyn Terpstra they’re going to be a threat.”

Ritchhart adds Terpstra will be a key to his team’s success if they can find a way to slow her down. In the boys game, the much taller Eagles will have to defend a Knoxville squad that relies heavily on the three point shot. That said Pella Christian Coach J-D Boer says this is a busy portion of the season and he will need to manage his player’s physical energy.

Boer: “It is a busy week, Monday, Tuesday, Friday and we have those games. This is a part of the season where you wish you could practice but we’ll be ready for Monday.”

Listen for the call on both KNIA and KRLS with the pregame set to begin at 5:45 and the girls tip off at 6:15.