Central women’s basketball team falls in tight conference battle

Central College

PELLA — A poised Central College women’s basketball team took one-loss Luther down to the wire in a 61-54 loss Saturday.

The Dutch (9-4 overall, 0-2 Iowa Conference) trailed the Norse (12-1, 2-0) by 10 at the break, but trimmed the deficit to 54-50 with 4:30 to play. Luther scored seven of the next nine points to take a 61-52 lead with 45 seconds left, and held on for a 61-54 victory.

Guard Alison Malaby (freshman, Mechanicsville, North Cedar HS) kept the Dutch in the game with a career-high 21 points. She was an efficient 7-for-9 from the field and a perfect 7-for-7 at the line. She also grabbed four rebounds and recorded one assist, while committing just one turnover.

“I thought Alison Malaby was outstanding,” said coach Chelsea Petersen. “She was asked to do a lot for us from a game perspective. She did a tremendous job taking care of the basketball.”

Petersen said a big key was slowing down an up-tempo Luther offense.

“Coming into the game we knew that we couldn’t play at Luther’s pace,” said Petersen. “Luther really wants to push the ball in transition. It was really important that we made offensive shots, got set defensively, slowed them down in transition and guarded them well in the half court.”

The Dutch played tough on defense, forcing the Norse into 17 turnovers with the help of some full-court pressure.

“I thought our defensive effort was tremendous,” said Petersen. “For the second conference game in a row we held a team to about 20 points under their season average.”

One major advantage for the Norse was on the boards, where they outrebounded the Dutch 47-24.

“I felt the difference in the game was offensive rebounding,” said Petersen. “Luther is a strong aggressive team. They had 22 offensive rebounds to our four. That’s 22 second chance opportunities.”

Central shot 45 percent from the field to Luther’s 36 percent, but Luther’s performance on the offensive glass allowed them to take 17 more shots than the Dutch.

Forward Tina Lane (freshman, Williamsburg) finished the game in double figures for Central, scoring 10 points and grabbing four rebounds.

“Tina Lane looked fantastic getting to the rim,” said Petersen. “I thought she played with a lot of energy.”

Petersen liked the performance of players that came off the bench. Guard Jessica Helton (freshman, Nevada) dished out a team-high six assists and recorded four points.

“I thought Jessica Helton came off the bench and played extremely well,” said Petersen.

Overall Petersen likes how hard her team is playing while dealing with injuries to multiple key players.

“I thought our players played with a lot of poise, heart and effort,” said Petersen. “The thing I am most proud of about this team is that they continue to fight hard. Right now we have a team that plays with a never give up mentality.”

Luther had four players in double figures, led by Anna Madrigal with 16. Carrie Kilen had a double-double for the Norse, scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

The Dutch will travel to Waverly to take on Wartburg (9-4, 0-2) Wednesday at 6 p.m.