March 29, 2024

Pella Christian ends PCM’s victory streak

PELLA — The Prairie City-Monroe girls’ basketball team’s three-game winning streak was snapped by Pella Christian on Monday.

The Eagles broke open a tie game with an 18-11 second quarter and never looked back in a 57-49 home victory.

The Mustangs are an unblemished 3-0 inside the Heart of Iowa Athletic Conference but dropped to 0-2 in non-conference games.

Seniors Rachel Freland and Courtney VanHouweling had 16 and 15 points, respectively, while Rachel Stafford had a season-high seven points and Kayla Jennings also scored seven.

VanHouweling also had five assists and two steals, while Freland dished out four assists and also had two steals. Stafford pulled down five boards and Jennings grabbed six in the loss.

Senior Rachel Gulling, who was coming off a double-double performance against Roland-Story, missed the game because of a family commitment. She won’t play Tuesday night when the Mustangs head to Colfax-Mingo.

The Mustangs, who outscored the Eagles 11-8 in the third quarter, only turned it over 12 times but made just 17-of-44 from the floor and hit 5-of-19 from 3-point range.

Pella Christian’s lone loss this year came at Newton.

PCM tries to get back on track Tuesday night at winless Colfax-Mingo and then travels to Collins-Maxwell/Baxter on Friday. Both of those Heart of Iowa Athletic Conference games tip off at 6 p.m.