Offensive drought slows Central women’s basketball squad

Central College

PELLA — It’s a simple lesson, but hitting open shots didn’t come easily for a youthful Central College women’s basketball team in its home debut Wednesday.

The Dutch missed 16 of 19 3-point shots in the second half and tumbled 64-58 to Iowa Wesleyan.

Point guard Emily Dine (sophomore, Tampa Bay, Fla.) hit a career-high 18 points to go with eight rebounds, four assists and just one turnover.

Central (1-1) was up 18-17 after the first quarter, but the game turned in the second.

“We had to make some lineup adjustments because of foul problems and (Iowa Wesleyan) was able to put a run together,” coach Chelsea Petersen said. “During that stretch we didn’t play well. We missed a lot of good opportunities. They outscored us by nine points and we lost by six.”

Central’s second-half shooting stymied any thoughts of a comeback.

“We weren’t able to hit perimeter shots,” Petersen said. “We were 3-for-19. The game comes down to that.”

But Central was effective in other areas, Petersen noted.

“We can always improve defensively but we outrebounded them (45-41) and turned the ball over only 16 times,” she said. “That’s good enough to be in position to win the game but we didn’t shoot the ball well. You hold a team to 64 points and you should win.”

Iowa Wesleyan (1-0) struggled as well, but still outshot Central for the night, 36.1 percent to 35.4.

Freshman guard Claire Marburger (Perry) continues to excite Petersen with her potential as she works her way into shape after being sidelined by injury for most of the preseason. She narrowly missed notching her second double-double in as many outings with 10 points and nine rebounds along with five blocks.

But the player Petersen singled out was forward Jackie Kriegel (sophomore, Marengo, Iowa Valley HS), who had six points and eight rebounds.

“Jackie was phenomenal from an energy perspective,” she said. “She makes the hustle plays, she takes charges, she dives on the floor. And she gets the team to play with more energy and a sense of urgency.”

Central travels to Mankato, Minn. Saturday for a women’s-men’s doubleheader with Bethany Lutheran College (Minn.) tipping off at 3 p.m. The Vikings took a 1-0 record into Wednesday night’s game with St. Olaf (Minn.).

With Central’s young lineup, progress will come, Petersen said, but likely in spurts.

“Our young players need to develop confidence in themselves and learn how to read situations,” she said.