Clark hits women’s basketball winner for Central
Central Dutch Athletics
PELLA—On a night when offense was at a premium, freshman guard Jenna Clark (Story City, Roland-Story HS) delivered as her layup with 9 seconds remaining gave the Central College women’s basketball team a 47-45 victory over Buena Vista University Wednesday night.
It was Central’s fourth win in five outings and snapped an eight-game losing streak against the Beavers.
Buena Vista (5-10 overall, 0-6 American Rivers) had clawed back from a 10-point second-half deficit, tying it at 45-45 with 32 seconds left. But following a timeout, Central (6-8 overall, 2-3 conference) patiently drained the clock until Clark drove the lane to bank in the game-winner.
“It was a big-time play by Jenna,” coach Joe Steinkamp said. “She’s the type of player who likes to have the ball in those situations. We talked all year about how someone has to step up and make a play. I’m really proud of Jenna for getting that type of look and knocking it down.”
She finished with seven points as Central failed to put a player in double figures. Forward Kendall Brown (junior, Moravia) had five with six rebounds and six blocked shots while freshman guard Bri Smith (Solon) had eight points.
“Kendall at the rim is such a presence,” Steinkamp said. “She’s our security blanket back there. You know you can pressure the ball when you’ve got her behind you.”
Forward Payton Rogers (sophomore, Moravia) had seven rebounds in just 11 minutes of action.
“She really played with a lot of energy, which is what we needed,” Steinkamp said. “We’ve also had back-to-back good defensive games from Sami Craig (sophomore, Altoona, Southeast Polk HS). She gets her hands on so many balls.”
Central shot just 30.2 percent from the field but limited Buena Vista to 24.2 percent. The Dutch entered the night leading the league in field goal percentage defense in conference games at 33.3 percent.
“Our defense has been excellent all conference season,” Steinkamp said. “We didn’t rebound as well as we have been, which allowed them to stay in the game, but we forced them into a lot of bad shots.”
The Dutch were outboarded by 50-39. But it was the second league win for Central, which hasn’t won more than two conference games since 2013-14.
“It doesn’t matter how you win, every conference win is a big win,” Steinkamp said. Central travels to Decorah to meet Luther College Saturday in a league women’s-men’s twinbill starting at 2 p.m. The Norse stunned their rival, No. 18 Wartburg College, 75-63 at Waverly Wednesday and are 5-7 overall and 4-1 in the league, moving into a tie for first place.
“Luther is always good,” Steinkamp said. “They’ve got a lot of length, they’re good defensively and they’re well-coached. We just want to keep playing well. We’ve had a run of good practices and games. We need to work hard and continue to defend.”
