Simpson’s fast start too much for Central women’s basketball team
Central College
INDIANOLA — The Central College women’s basketball team fell behind early and could not recover in a 70-46 loss on the road at Simpson College Wednesday.
The Storm (14-4 overall, 4-3 Iowa Conference) raced out to a 15-2 lead against the Dutch (9-9, 0-7) to start the game. Eighteen first-half turnovers were costly for the Dutch as they turned into 28 points for Simpson.
“Unfortunately you can’t have one half of bad basketball in the Iowa Conference and win a basketball game,” said coach Chelsea Petersen.
Central came out and improved after halftime, holding Simpson to just 29 percent shooting and outscoring the Storm 31-21 in the second half.
“The message at halftime was to focus and win the second half, and we were able to do that,” said Petersen. “I felt that we executed our game plan extremely well, which is why we had such a great second half.”
The Dutch also cut down on their turnovers, committing just five in the second twenty minutes.
“In the second half we took care of the basketball, we defended and we boxed out,” said Petersen.
Simpson was led offensively by Rachel Kaale who finished with 16 points, while Mackenzie Haupt added 14.
Guard Savanna Thornton (sophomore, Bedford) was the lone player for the Dutch in double figures with 12 points. She was 4-for-6 from beyond the arc in the game.
“Savanna Thornton was tremendous,” said Petersen. “She came in and she hit shots in the second half. She was really looking to be a scoring threat.”
Forward Madeline Simmons (freshman, Elkhorn, Neb., South HS) was another bright spot for the Dutch.
“Madeline Simmons played with great effort tonight,” said Petersen. “She was very good all-around and she played really hard.”
The Central coach also praised the play of forward Bry Pierce (senior, St. Clair, Mo.). The senior forward finished with six points, including shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line, in her third game back since missing time with an injury.
“Bry Pierce had great energy off the bench,” said Petersen. “She gave us a lot of good minutes tonight.”
Central is still without its leading scorer on the season, guard Rachel Evans (senior, Fort Dodge) who is out with an injury.
The Dutch will travel to Storm Lake Saturday to take on Buena Vista (6-11, 1-5) at 4 p.m. The Beavers topped the Dutch in a close 64-61 battle Jan. 21 in Pella.
