The Pella Christian and Newton basketball teams split a Little Hawkeye Conference doubleheader heard live on 92.1 KRLS and the KRLS3 stream Tuesday night. The Eagle girls defeated the Cardinals 35-27 in the opening game, while the Newton boys knocked off Class 2A #9 Pella Christian 65-55 in the nightcap.

The Eagles and Cardinals played nearly even in the first half of the girls game, with Pella Christian taking a narrow 16-12 lead into halftime. Out of the break, the Eagles began to pull away, stretching the advantage to 29-17 at the end of the third quarter. Newton continued to battle in the final eight minutes of play, outscoring Pella Christian 10-6, but the Eagles held on for the eight-point win. Jessa De Vries led all scorers in the game with 10 points for Pella Christian, while Addyson Cibula was the Cardinals’ top scorer with eight points. Eagles’ freshman Finley Snyder, who added seven points on the night, said the coaches have done a great job encouraging the team despite their recent struggles offensively.

“Our coaches instill confidence in all of our players. They tell us our role and tell us to be confident and shoot or move it around and if we get open to shoot.”

In the nightcap, Newton used physical defense and a strong shooting effort to grab a 29-23 halftime lead. The Cardinals continued to keep the pressure on the ranked Eagles after the intermission, pulling ahead 49-39 at the end of the third quarter. Pella Christian rallied early in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to five, but Newton held off the comeback attempt to secure their first conference victory of the season. Newton had four players score in double figures, led by Isaiah Slaughter with 21 points. Brody Wobschall added 14 off the bench, while Dawson Maki and Caden Klein each had 12 points. Gilbert Flagel led the Eagles scoring effort with a game-high 22 points, while Garrett Wielard contributed 12. Cardinals head coach Jason Carter was happy to see the team’s offensive struggles end against conference opponents. 

“We made it a goal to get into the upper 50’s tonight. Being able to score 65 points, we know with our defensive effort most nights, that’s going to give us a chance to win.”

The Newton basketball teams return to the court tomorrow for a home conference doubleheader against Indianola. Pella Christian is set to be back in action on Friday, hosting Pella in the second round of the Tulip City Showdown.