Central women’s basketball team tumbles in semifinals
INDIANOLA—A sluggish first quarter left the Central College women’s basketball team with an uphill battle and a season-ending 75-61 loss to top-seeded Simpson College in the American Rivers tourney semifinals.
The Dutch close their abbreviated season with a 6-4 mark. Simpson (11-0), ranked No. 7 in the D3hoops.com poll, plays host to Coe College in the league title game Saturday.
Coach Joe Steinkamp said the contest mirrored the teams’ first meeting Feb. 3 in Pella, a 77-61 Central loss.
“It was pretty similar,” he said. “They took a first-quarter lead and then it was back and forth after that. Every time we made a little run, they responded with a run of their own. Simpson is a really good team that is playing at a high level. I give them a lot of credit.”
Central trailed 23-13 after one period and 38-25 at intermission.
Guard Kelsea Hurley (sophomore, Scottsdale, Ariz., Desert Mountain HS) had 13 points and four assists while guard Maci Gambell (junior, Hedrick, Pekin HS) added 12 points and seven rebounds. Guard Carson Fisk (sophomore, Searsboro, Lynnville-Sully HS) had 10 points and forward Payton Rogers (senior, Moravia) scored nine points with a team-high eight boards.
Central was outrebounded 42-40 and outshot 44.6% to 31.7%.
“We really struggled to slow them down in transition,” Steinkamp said. “We got some good shots and I thought we moved the ball well but you almost have to score 80 points to beat them and we just didn’t have enough offense.”
Still, even in a drastically shortened season, the Dutch program took yet another step forward. It was a top-four league finish for a program that just three years ago struggled through a 2-14 league campaign. Central hosted and won its first league tournament game in 20 seasons, posting its best finish since 2000-01. Steinkamp directed much of the credit to his squad’s seniors, Rogers, forward Sami Craig (Altoona, Southeast Polk HS), guard Bryce Gittleson (Ashton, Ill., Ashton-Franklin Center HS), guard Emily Hay (Lowden, North Cedar HS) and guard Cynthia Rangel (San Antonio, Texas, William J. Brennan HS).
“I’m extremely thankful for how hard they’ve worked, the great leaders they’ve been and what they’ve done in the past four years to elevate a program that’s really doing some special things.
“There were a lot of challenges this year. We didn’t have much of a preseason, we didn’t have a non-conference season, we didn’t have many practice opportunities, but they never made any excuses. They just kept grinding and making the best of it.
“They’re an important part of the Central basketball family.”
Yet Steinkamp has a wealth of young talent for next season that he’s eager to see develop in a more normal off-season.
“We’re really excited about the future of the program,” Steinkamp said. “We’ve got a really deep team and some very talented players who will continue to work hard and are ready to get back at it to make this a championship program. I think the future is extremely bright.”
