Coe’s 3-point shooting downs Central women’s basketball team
Central College
CEDAR RAPIDS — Coe College jumped out to an early lead thanks to 10 first-half 3-pointers in a 62-44 win against the Central College women’s basketball team Wednesday.
Despite the hot-shooting of Coe (15-7 overall, 8-3 Iowa Conference), the Dutch (9-13, 0-11) trailed by single digits most of the first half.
“We came out against a talented Coe team and did extremely well defensively,” said coach Chelsea Petersen. “Other than giving up too many threes as a result of losing a shooter, we really limited Coe’s talented post player and inside game.”
The Kohawks led by double digits for the first time 36-26 with 11 seconds to play in the first half. Coe used a 12-0 run midway through the second half to extend its lead and pull away from Central.
“Ultimately a low shooting percentage in the second half was too much to overcome,” said Petersen. “We had the looks we wanted but weren’t able to execute.”
Central was 7-for-30 (23.3 percent) shooting in the second half and 17-for-52 (32.7 percent) in the game. Coe was 20-for-44 (45.5 percent) from the field Wednesday.
Guard Kenzie Vander Molen (senior, Pella) led the Dutch with eight points and guard Rachel Evans (senior, Fort Dodge) added seven points and grabbed five rebounds. Forward Jackie Kriegel (freshman, Marengo, Iowa Valley HS) filled up the stat sheet with six points, four rebounds, two steals and one assist.
“I felt Jackie Kriegel had another high energy performance and rebounded the ball extremely well,” said Petersen.
Guard Mariah Swartzentruber (sophomore, Kalona, Mid-Prairie HS) made two 3-pointers to run her season total to 53. She is third on Central’s single-season list, one behind Courtney Kelderman, who made 54 last season.
Mickey Hansche finished with a game-high 18 points, all in the first half, for the Kohawks.
One area where Central improved Wednesday was cutting down on turnovers. After committing 24 turnovers Saturday the Dutch had just 10 against Coe.
“We did a great job of taking care of the basketball,” said Petersen.
An area the Dutch will look to get better at in the next few games is free throw shooting. Central was just 5-for-14 (35.7 percent) at the line while Coe was 11-for-14 (78.6 percent) with all 14 attempts coming after halftime.
The Dutch, who have been plagued by countless injuries throughout the season and have had multiple starters miss significant time, were impacted by another injury Wednesday. Forward Madeline Simmons (freshman, Elkhorn, Neb., South HS) had to leave the game in the second half after sustaining an injury.
“I am tremendously proud of how our team has handled adversity this season,” said Petersen.
Central will travel to Decorah Saturday to battle Luther College (18-4, 8-3) at 2 p.m. The Norse defeated the Dutch 61-54 Jan. 10 in Pella. The game will be broadcasted by KRLS-FM (92.1). The broadcast can also be accessed through www.kniakrls.com.
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