Central Women’s Basketball Team Drops Nonconference Finale

Central College

WEBSTER GROVES, Mo. — Twenty points, 14 rebounds and a school record nine blocks from sophomore forward Claire Marburger (Perry) failed to rein in Webster University (Mo.) as the Central College women’s basketball team tumbled 71-60 Friday night.

Junior guard Emily Dine (Oldsmar, Fla., East Lake HS) added nine points, junior forward Alison Malaby (Mechanicsville, North Cedar HS) had nine points and six rebounds and junior forward Jackie Kriegel (Marengo, Iowa Valley HS) had seven points and nine rebounds.

Marburger, who finished just a block shy of the first statistical triple-double in Central history, eclipsed the mark of eight rejections set by Sue Poppens in 1985.The contest was a tale of two halves. Central trailed the Gorloks 43-35 at the break, largely due to self-inflicted mistakes according to coach Chelsea Petersen.

“The second half was drastically different than the first,” she said. “We lost due to poor defensive execution in the first half and turnovers.”

Central won the rebound battle 38-31 and outshot Webster 47.5% to 36.8% but committed 26 turnovers in its final non-conference game of the season.

The Dutch return to Iowa Conference action Wednesday night as Central hosts Luther College in a women’s-men’s doubleheader, with the women’s contest to tip at 6 p.m. at P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium. Luther (7-4 overall, 3-0 conference) heads into the contest having two wins in the Colorado College Classic while Central has won three of its last five. The Dutch dropped both battles with the Norse last season.

“This game provided an opportunity to highlight areas of improvement going into the start of Iowa Conference play Wednesday,” said Petersen. “We look forward to continuing to improve and to use this loss as a springboard for overall team improvement.”