The Washington Demons fought hard but ultimately couldn’t overcome the fourth-ranked team in Class 3A, seeing their season coming to an end with a 76-38 loss to the Pella Dutch on Thursday.

At first, Washington was able to keep pace, opening up a 5-0 lead and forcing a couple of turnovers. Pella would strike back, taking their first lead at 8-7. The first quarter would come and go in just 10 minutes, with Pella leading 17-12.

Pella showed off its athleticism throughout the second, getting to the basket with ease, but Washington stuck around for quite a while, even getting the deficit back to just 5 after briefly tailing by 10. However, a 10-0 run in the last couple minutes of the quarter gave the Dutch their biggest lead of the game at 15, 39-24.

In the second half, Washington would finally run out of gas, unable to keep up with Pella’s large roster and constant rotations. The lead would expand past the 30-point line by the fourth quarter, and the benches would clear out for the rest of the game, with Pella earning the 38-point win.

Head coach Collin Stark spoke to KCII after the game, he says that this year’s senior class has set the groundwork for what will be a young squad next year. “We’re going to be young next year, but I think that we’ve got a lot of talent that can step into those shoes and hopefully build off of what this senior class was able to accomplish during their careers.”

Rajan Roth led the way with 12 for the Demons. All four seniors, including Roth, Drew Conrad, Kael Williams, and CJ Swailes, were able to score. Pella was led by Jack McGuire’s 22, and Austin Schulte’s 19.

Washington ends its season at 13-11, a four-win improvement over their 2024-25 campaign.