Central takes down Grinnell in women’s basketball opener

Central College

GRINNELL — Central College sophomore forward Claire Marburger (Perry) scored a career-high 32 points in a season-opening 75-39 rout of Grinnell College Tuesday night.

Marburger had a statistical double-double already at halftime. She shot 10 of-20 from the floor, 12 of-12 from the charity stripe and collected 15 rebounds.

Central (1-0) began the night on a 14-3 run and never looked back.

“We got off to a great start tonight,” said coach Chelsea Petersen. “We had an attack mentality right from the start.”

Point guard Emily Dine (junior, Oldsmar, Fla., East Lake HS) added 19 points on 6 of 10 shooting, including 5 of 8 from beyond the arc. Forward Jackie Kriegel (junior, Marengo, Iowa Valley HS) had eight points and 11 rebounds.

“Emily Dine had a great night,” said Petersen. “She shot the ball well from three and was able to find her teammates in transition. Jackie ran the floor well and was two points shy of a double-double.”

Two points of emphasis for the Dutch this season are taking care of the basketball and rebounding. The Dutch outrebounded Grinnell 50-36 and had just 13 turnovers. “It was a great team win,” said Petersen. “We were able to do the little things outside of scoring to win.”

Central makes its home-season debut Friday against Bethany Lutheran University (Minn.) at 6 p.m. at P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium. At www.central.edu/athletics.

“We are excited to play in front of our home crowd on Friday night,” said Petersen.