By Sam Parsons

The Oskaloosa Indians made the short drive to Pella Christian on Friday night for a Little Hawkeye Conference girls and boys basketball doubleheader. The night marked the start of the second half of the Indians’ conference schedule; both the girls and boys teams carried 1-5 conference records into the night’s action.

Girls Game

The girls game saw Oskaloosa come out somewhat flat to start. Pella Christian jumped out to an 11-6 lead in the first quarter with some success shooting the ball from the outside, while Oskaloosa wasn’t able to convert on their early opportunities.

However, things changed quickly in the second quarter as Oskaloosa began to hit the open shots they were given. Senior forward Hannah Nelson was the main beneficiary of the way the Eagles had planned their defense: the Eagles devoted heavy resources to slowing down senior Dasia Foster in the paint, which freed up quite a bit of space for Nelson to hit wide open shots, whether they were close-range or mid-range looks. Nelson scored a season-high 15 points on the night, making 7 field goals.

At halftime, the Indians led 26-22. But in the third quarter, the Eagles once again found their groove from downtown. Senior guard Faith Kacmarynski knocked down 4 of 6 three-point shot attempts and the Eagles shot 43.8% from downtown on the night after shooting just 27.2% from deep on the season prior to Friday night’s action. Pella Christian’s hot night of shooting gave them a 35-34 lead going into the fourth quarter, setting the stage for a tight finish.

That tight finish never came. Oskaloosa’s offense continued to maintain a good pace led by Nelson and Foster; Dasia Foster finished the night with a 14 point double-double despite all of the attention she was getting from Pella Christian’s inside defenders. Meanwhile, the Eagles finally cooled off in the three-point shooting department, which left their offense in a bad spot. They were never able to generate consistency with close-range shots due to the looming presence of Foster protecting the rim, and all of those factors led to the Eagles’ offense sputtering to the tune of only 4 points scored in the fourth quarter. Oskaloosa’s defense clamped down in crunch time while their offense was able to coast to the end, and by the time the final buzzer sounded, it was a 49-39 Oskaloosa win.

Boys Game

Oskaloosa’s boys entered Friday night’s tilt with Pella Christian eager for a chance to avenge their 59-42 loss to the Eagles earlier in the season.

And that is exactly what they did: the fireworks started early and stayed active all night long as Oskaloosa enjoyed their finest night of shooting of the season.

In the first half, sophomore guard Tommy North caught fire from beyond the arc, knocking down 5 triples on his way to 21 first half points. North’s three-point barrage led Oskaloosa to their most prolific half of offense this season: they scored 40 points in the first half of Friday night’s game, with Landon Romas, Heavon Knox, Xavier Edwards, and Tyler Edgar each chipping in points alongside North.

Meanwhile, Osky’s defense continued to play at the high level they had established in other recent games. The first time the Indians and Eagles faced each other this season, it was the Eagles who had a hot night of outside shooting; this time, the fortunes of the two teams reversed in that department, as Osky was not giving the Eagles any extra real estate outside of the three-point line while interior defenders such as Edwards and Ethan Stek locked down the paint. At halftime, the score was 40-18, and it looked like the Indians would emphatically bounce back from their earlier showing this season against Pella Christian.

Fortunately for Oskaloosa, nothing profound or unexpected happened in the second half to lead to an Eagle comeback. The Indians’ offense did just enough while their defense limited the Pella Christian attack until late in the game, and the end result was a 65-44 win for Oskaloosa. It was the first time Oskaloosa’s boys defeated Pella Christian since 2020, snapping a 9-game losing streak.

Oskaloosa will host Indianola on Tuesday night for their next conference doubleheader. Coverage will go live around 5:45pm on KBOE 104.9 FM and kboeradio.com.