Dutch squander 12-point women’s basketball lead, lose third straight
Central College
NORTHFIELD, MINN. — Freshman forward Claire Marburger (Perry, Iowa) continued her torrid start with 21 points, but the young Central College women’s basketball squad saw a first-half lead slip away in a 57-47 loss at St. Olaf (Minn.) Friday.
Central led 22-10 with 2:22 remaining in the second quarter and took a 26-18 lead into halftime.
“We came out with a lot of urgency and energy in the first two quarters,” coach Chelsea Petersen said. “Those two quarters were the best two quarters we have played this season and we put ourselves in a position to win a game on the road.”
The Oles took their first lead at 43-42 in the fourth quarter and the Dutch would not lead again.
“The second half was the complete opposite of the first,” Petersen said. “St. Olaf came out aggressive on the defensive end and our players did not respond.”
The Dutch made just 1 of 15 shots from behind the arc and shot 38 percent from the floor. Central did not take advantage of trips to the charity stripe, making just eight of 14 attempts.
Central’s defense was stout, holding the Oles to just 30 percent shooting, but sent St. Olaf to the free throw line 33 times, where it converted 16. The Dutch were outrebounded 42-32.
Marburger notched her second consecutive 20-point game on 10-of-17 shooting, adding six rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
“Claire is consistently scoring the ball for us and she had another great game tonight,” Petersen said.
Unfortunately for Central, Marburger was the only player who could get anything to fall, as no other player scored more than seven points.
Petersen knows these non-conference contests will help prepare for what lies ahead.
“We have a young team that continues to improve week by week,” she said. “Our goal is to make the necessary adjustments in non-conference games to make a run in the Iowa Conference.”
Central will try to right the ship Saturday with a noon tilt against Carleton (Minn.) to wrap up the Carleton-St. Olaf Thanksgiving Classic.
“We will need to do a good job of guarding Carleton’s interior players,” Petersen said. “We have to limit their touches in the post and continue to box out. Hopefully we can come out with a sense of urgency and execute our game plan.”
