Area roundup: PC girls and boys both suffer losses at Newton

Colin Peters, The Oskaloosa Herald, Iowa
·2 min read

Jan. 4—Boys basketball

Newton 50, Pella Christian 42

NEWTON — The Eagles couldn't overcome a slow start against a good Cardinals team on Tuesday as they fell at Newton to open up their 2023 campaign.

"We got off to a really slow start," Pella Christian head coach JD Boer said. "Newton did a nice job of locking us down and we had a hard time getting anything going offensively. I was proud of how we battled back. The guys played hard, but in order to win on the road in this league, we have to be able to make some plays and get some buckets on offense, and we were unable to do that."

PC was outscored 13-3 in the first quarter and had some work to do to get back into it on the road. They responded well in the second quarter and were able to pull within three at the break and stay within two scores entering the fourth but just couldn't overcome Newton in the end.

Newton's Cole Plowman had a double-double of 23 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks while Pella Christian was led by Tysen DeVries' 16 points and Dane Geetings' 12 points.

"We'll bounce back," Boer said. "Our response is really important and I'm looking forward to seeing us continue to improve."

Pella Christian (4-3, 2-2 LHC) hosts Pella (5-2, 3-1 LHC) in the Tulip City Showdown on Friday at 7:45 p.m.

Girls basketball

Newton 44, Pella Christian 41

NEWTON — The Eagles girls basketball team opened up 2023 with their fourth single digit deciding game of the season but unfortunately they were on the wrong side of it as they fell by three to Newton on Tuesday.

The PC offense had a tough time getting going as they shook off the rust of the winter break and were without their second leading scorer Faith Kacmarynski. The Eagles were held to just 17 points through the first three quarters and found themselves trailing by 18 going to the fourth.

The game would flip in favor of PC in the fourth as they found their offense and roared back into the game with a 24-9 scoring advantage. Joslyn Terpstra had a chance to tie the game with an off-balanced three with time winding down but it would be off and Newton would hold on for the win.

Sophia Reynolds had 23 points to lead the Cardinals while Anna Eveland led the Eagles with 15 points while Terpstra added 11 points.

Pella Christian (1-8, 0-4 LHC) will take on Pella (7-2, 3-1 LHC) at home on Friday at 6:15 p.m.

Colin Peters can be reached at 641-672-2581, by email at cpeters@oskyherald.com or on Twitter @ColinPetersOH.