For the first time in program history, the Indianola boys basketball team is outright Little Hawkeye Conference champions after knocking off Pella 79-68 last night as part of a doubleheader heard live on 94.3 KNIA, KRLS2 and Pella Dutch Live. In the opener, the 8th-ranked Dutch girls held on for a 53-50 victory over #13 Indianola.
The Class 4A fifth-ranked Indian boys put all five starters in double figures, led by Drew Kingery with 20 points and 11 rebounds. They led by nine at the half, and while the Dutch hit three three-pointers to start the third quarter and tie the game, Indianola stretched the lead back to eight at the end of the quarter and led by double digits for most of the fourth. Indianola head coach Jeff Ebling said after Pella tied it in the third quarter, he trusted his leaders out on the court to fix it themselves.
“I think our guys kind of looked at me and I said no we are not calling a timeout, we are going to have to figure this out. I think we then scored on our next three possessions of just playing solid basketball, making the right reads, and finishing around the rim. Sometimes you can’t rely on taking a timeout, sometimes you have to work through some adversity. Tonight we did, and once we got that going we took it from there and were able to pull away in the end.”
On senior night, Pella seniors Cam Schulte (24 points, six rebounds) and Try Van Hauen (17 points, seven boards) combined for 41 points. The Dutch fall to 11-8 and 6-7 in the Little Hawkeye Conference, while Indianola is 17-2 and 12-1.
Pella’s girls can now finish no worse than a tie for second place in the league after their victory, but it wasn’t easy. The Dutch led most of the way, but the Indians kept it close, eventually tying the game at 47-47 with less than three minutes to go. Pella scored six straight points to regain control, but a Zoey Belt three-pointer and three missed free throws in the final minute by the Dutch gave the Indians a chance to force overtime. They missed two three’s in the final ten seconds, preserving the Pella victory.
“Indianola’s a tough team”, said Dutch senior Eliza Van Zee. “We just had to go out and play the best that we could. There were some calls that didn’t go our way, but we stuck through and played until the end and it’s a great win on senior night.”
Kennedy Van Vark scored 16 points for Pella and Mia Warner snatched 16 rebounds as the Dutch improve to 16-4 and 11-2 in league play. Indianola got 22 points from Emily Naughton and 10 points and eight boards from Belt. They’re now 9-11 and 7-6.
Indianola makes the return trip to the Tulip City to take on Pella Christian tomorrow night to wrap up Little Hawkeye Conference action while Pella travels to Dallas Center-Grimes on Friday night.