Central women’s basketball team drops OT thriller
Central College
PELLA — After forcing overtime with a late 3-pointer the Central College women’s basketball team fell to Buena Vista 64-61 Wednesday.
Trailing by three with 35 seconds to go in regulation guard Mariah Swartzentruber (sophomore, Kalona, Mid-Prairie HS) drained a long 3-pointer for the Dutch (9-7 overall, 0-5 Iowa Conference) to tie the game at 54.
“We drew up a set that really drew in defenders and left Mariah open for a three,” said coach Chelsea Petersen. “She did a great job of knocking it down. I felt that the five players on the floor came out of the timeout and executed really well.”
A Buena Vista (6-10, 1-4) jump shot at the buzzer hit the rim but didn’t drop, and the two teams headed to overtime.
The overtime was dominated by free throws with 12 of the 17 points coming at the line. Both teams struggled at the charity stripe in the game. Central was 8-for-16 and Buena Vista was 16-for-28.
In the overtime period, after forward Bry Pierce (senior, St. Clair, Mo.) hit two free throws with four seconds left to bring Central within two, 63-61, Buena Vista went one for two at the free throw line to increase its lead to three. The Dutch attempted a long three at the buzzer but it was off the mark and the Beavers held on for the three-point victory.
Petersen said two areas that plagued Central were rebounding and slow starts to both halves. Buena Vista held a 51-41 advantage on the boards, including a 20-15 advantage on the offensive glass.
“Defensively we will be a very scary team once we figure out how to stop other teams from getting offensive rebounds,” said Petersen. “We are a really good defensive team, but we have to finish defensive possessions by getting rebounds.”
Central trailed 16-4 after eight minutes in the opening half. The Dutch then sank four 3-pointers for a 12-0 run to tie the game at 16. The first three triples were made by guard Savanna Thornton (sophomore, Bedford).
“Savanna came in off the bench and played extremely well,” said Petersen. “She knocked down some big threes that really helped us shift the momentum. “
Thornton doubled her previous career high with 12 points Wednesday.
Guard Kenzie Vander Molen (senior, Pella) led all scorers with 16 points. She finished with nine assists, just one assist shy of a double-double, and seven rebounds in 43 minutes.
“I thought Kenzie was great attacking the rim and getting to the rim,” said Petersen. “She played a lot of minutes and did a great job.”
Pierce finished with eight points and four rebounds in her first game back from injury. She last played Dec. 10.
“Bry did a great job for us tonight,” said Petersen. “I thought she did a great job for the first three and a half minutes of overtime. She gave Buena Vista’s interior players some issues inside.”
Central is still without its leading scorer for the season, guard Rachel Evans (senior, Fort Dodge), who is out with an injury.
The Dutch will play at home again Saturday, taking on Coe (10-5, 3-1) at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcasted by KRLS-FM (92.1). The broadcast can also be accessed through www.kniakrls.com.
