Central women’s basketball squad advances to title game in Colorado
Central College
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. — Behind a double-double effort from freshman forward Claire Marburger (Perry, Iowa), the Central College women’s basketball squad overtook host Colorado College 73-58 Monday to secure a place in the championship game of the Colorado College Winter Invitational.
The Dutch (3-7) led from start to finish and outscored the Tigers (1-9) in all four quarters to wrap up their second-consecutive victory.
“I have to give credit to our team for staying committed to who we are as a program,” coach Chelsea Petersen said. “I’m really proud of our performance today.”
Central shot a season-high 47 percent form the floor, knocking down 27-of-58 shots, including 4-of-14 from behind the arc. The largest Dutch lead was 51-35 at the 2:33 mark of the third quarter.
“Today was the best we have played offensively all season,” Petersen said. “We were aggressive on the offensive end and it paid off.”
The Dutch outrebounded Colorado College 39-31 and turned 12 offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points. Central forced the Tigers into 19 turnovers, converting those into 14 points.
“We were able to create extra opportunities in big parts of the game.” Petersen said. “We took advantage of those and hit some big shots.”
Colorado College went on a run midway through the fourth quarter, cutting the Dutch lead to four at 54-50, but Central stayed composed.
“We called timeout and challenged our team,” Petersen said. “The players responded and I’m really proud of them for that.”
The Dutch did not let the 14-hour trip to Colorado Springs affect them.
“The players stayed focused after the long road trip and did a great job of executing the game plan,” Petersen said. “We did a great job getting after the loose balls and making aggressive plays. The hustle and energy today was outstanding.”
Marburger notched her fifth double-double of the season on a game-high 25 points and 11 boards. She also added a season-high six steals, just one off the school record.
Sophomore forward Jackie Kriegel (Marengo, Iowa/Iowa Valley HS) poured in a career-high 14 points and secured nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Alison Malaby (Mechanicsville, Iowa/North Cedar HS) converted 4-of-5 field goals, going for nine points.
“Jackie and Alison played tremendous games today,” Petersen said. “Alison was aggressive at the rim and Jackie was great in transition and did a great job getting us second-chance points.”
Central will take on Wis.-La Crosse at 3 p.m. in Tuesday’s title game after the Eagles knocked off Hamline (Minn.) 72-61 earlier Monday. The Dutch and Wis.-La Crosse have split the only two meetings in program history.
“We have to handle their (Wis.-La Crosse) pressure tomorrow,” Petersen said. “They have strong post players so we need to defend the interior as well as in transition. On the offensive end, hopefully we can play the we did today.”
