30-point 3rd quarter fuels Central women’s basketball win
Central College
PELLA — Through the first 20 minutes Friday night, the home-season debut looked like a dud.
But evidence continues to mount that this is a vastly improved Central College women’s basketball team. Down as many as 13 points to Bethany Lutheran (Minn.) in the second quarter and trailing 35-30 at intermission, Central (2-0) erupted for a 30-point third quarter, reeling off 17 unanswered points to surge to a 60-43 advantage at the end of the period and roared to an 83-63 victory.
It’s a second straight Dutch win over an opponent they fell to a year ago. Central tumbled at Bethany Lutheran 74-65 last season.
Forward Claire Marburger (sophomore, Perry) also extended her torrid start with 30 points, nine rebounds and two steals, after pouring in 32 in a win at Grinnell College Tuesday night. Guard Emily Dine (junior, Tampa Bay, Fla., East Lake HS) had 18 points while forward Jackie Kriegel (junior, Marengo, Iowa Valley HS) notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. Guard Allison Malaby (junior, Mechanicsville, North Cedar HS) added nine points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.
The Dutch were badly outrebounded in the first half, 26-14, but narrowed that gap to 46-45. After hitting just 7 of 22 first-quarter shots, Central finished at 49.2 percent from the floor, including 62 percent in the second half.
“The message to the team was that we weren’t happy with the way we played the first half but we were in it enough to make a run in the second half,” coach Chelsea Petersen said.
A team that has been freshman-dominant the past couple of seasons now has some veterans. That was telling Friday as well.
“We finally have some juniors on the court,” Petersen said. “So we have the maturity to respond to situations. We went in at halftime, talked about what we needed to do and went out and executed it. That’s what you’re seeing with a team that’s a year older and a year more experienced.”
The stat line wasn’t flawless. Central committed 20 turnovers and hit only 58.1 percent from the free throw line (18-31). But the Dutch had 10 steals and forced 27 turnovers by Bethany Lutheran (0-1).
Petersen also cited freshman forward Kendall Brown (Moravia), who is already contributing some key minutes off the bench. She had seven points and four boards in 11 minutes.
“She’s so steady and so composed for a freshman,” Petersen said. “She’s going to be a special player. She’s very coachable and committed to her individual improvement.”
The Dutch are in the midst of a flurry of early-season games with five contests in an 11-day span. Central travels to Robert Morris-Springfield (Ill.) for a 2 p.m. game Sunday. The Eagles were 0-2 after suffering an 89-22 thrashing by Illinois-Springfield Wednesday.
