#1 Western Christian beat Pella Christian, 65-28, in a first round game at the state tournament.DES MOINES, Iowa -- -
Defending champion Western Christian is off and running in the Class 2A tournament.
The top-ranked Wolfpack built a 26-6 halftime lead and rolled past Pella Christian 65-28 in a rematch of last year's championship game.
The one-sided game allowed Western Christian coach Bill Harmsen to substitute liberally and 11 players scored for the Wolfpack.
Alissa Pollema and Shae DeJager led the way with 10 points each. Brooke Wolterstorff, the captain of last year's all-tournament team, added eight points and nine rebounds, while Kenzie VandeVegte also scored eight. Sophomore Jamie Gesink had five of the team's 15 steals.
Pella Christian lost to Western 67-57 in the title game last March and made it back to state for the third straight year despite losing all five starters.
Western Christian takes a 24-1 record into a semifinal game at 11:45 AM Thursday against #10 Aplington-Parkersburg.
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Second-ranked Lawton-Bronson survived a scare, beating unranked Iowa City Regina, 71-67, in a Class 2A first round game on Monday.
The game was tied 28-28 at halftime but the Eagles outscored the Regals 28-11 in the third quarter to take a 17-point lead to the fourth quarter.
Josie Kopal, who had 35 points in the regional finals, led Lawton-Bronson with 23 points. Ali Verzani had 16 points and Jessica Jager added 12 points.
The Eagles (25-1) will play the winner of Tuesday's game between #3 IKM-Manning or #14 Maquoketa Valley in the semifinals on Thursday at 1:30 PM.
