Central wins Cruzin Classic women’s basketball opener
Central Dutch Athletics
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Traveling over 1,500 miles to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the Central College women’s basketball team opened the Cruzin Classic with a 66-55 triumph over Kalamazoo College (Mich.) Monday.
Trailing after the opening quarter 16-12, the Dutch (6-3) surged past the Hornets (3-5), outscoring Kalamazoo 34-17 during the second and third quarters.
“It was good to get back on the court after having a break for finals,” said coach Joe Steinkamp. “I thought we really competed extremely hard.”
Playing in her home state for the first time since high school, senior guard Emily Dine (Oldsmar, Fla., East Lake HS) led Central with 16 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
“It was fun for Emily to be able to play in front of her family and friends and she had a really good all-around game,” said Steinkamp.
Sophomore forward Kendall Brown (Moravia) had her second statistical double-double of the season with 14 points,10 rebounds and two blocks.
“Kendal also played a nice game,” said Steinkamp. “She went up against a really physical post played and had a double-double with a couple of nice blocks.”
Senior guards Alison Malaby (Mechanicsville, North Cedar HS) and Jessica Helton (Nevada) added 13 and 12 points, respectively. Malaby was 8-of-10 from the free throw line and grabbed seven rebounds in the victory.
“Alison Malaby had a great all-around game,” said Steinkamp. “She did a really nice job getting to the free throw line and also getting some tough rebounds. She’s such a physical player and does so many little things for us that some people don’t always see.”
Senior forward Jackie Kriegel (Marengo, Iowa Valley HS) continued her strong rebounding season, grabbing a team-high 13 rebounds. Kriegel leads the Iowa Conference with 12.6 rebounds per game.
The Dutch defense clamped down on the Hornets, limiting them to just 28.2 percent from the field. Central went to the charity stripe 29 times and converted 20, nine more than Kalamazoo.
With the win, Central extended its winning streak to four games.
Central continues Cruzin Classic play Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m. Eastern Time with a contest against d3hoops.com No. 13 Wis.-Whitewater. The Warhawks enters the classic with a 6-0 record and faces Eastern Connecticut State University Monday evening.
