Fast start but Central women’s basketball upset bid falters late
PELLA-The upset was tantalizingly close, but No. 11-ranked Wartburg College escaped the Central College women’s basketball team 64-54 Saturday.
Central (9-9 overall, 3-6 American Rivers) led by as many as 11 points in the first half. An aggressive defense carried the Dutch to a 17-8 lead after one quarter and they stretched the margin to 29-18 with 2:46 remaining. But Wartburg closed the half with a deflating 11-0 flurry to make it 29-29 at the break.
“We played 17 minutes of just unbelievable defense in that first half,” coach Justin Weiland said. “Our defensive effort was fantastic.”
The Knights (16-2 overall, 9-0 conference) tacked on the first four points of the second half before Central steadied the ship. Another lapse was costly, as Wartburg turned a 39-38 advantage to 51-38 early in the fourth quarter. The Dutch came no closer than four the rest of the way.
“I didn’t have anything truly negative to say right after the game but talked about a couple of things we need to work on and one of them is truly having that discipline throughout the game,” coach Justin Weiland said. “We give up a bad minute-and-a-half and it’s a 4-0, 5-0, 6-0 run. We’ve just got to shorten those stretches and that’s what we’re trying to work through with what is still a young team.”
The Dutch got some big contributions off the bench to keep the outcome in doubt. Center CeCe Moore (freshman, Waterloo, West HS) had 13 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots while guard Jasmyn Williams (sophomore, Denver, Colo., Arvada West HS) added 12 with three assists and two steals.
“Jasmyn was unbelievable and so was CeCe coming off the bench,” Weiland said. “They combined for 25 points (on 11-of-18 shooting) and were super-efficient. Jazz has had a great stretch these last three games. I think they have been her best three games all season. And CeCe’s just growing in front of our eyes. We’ve been talking about buying into the team-first type of mentality and making the most of our opportunities. That’s what we did tonight.
Guard Abby Johnson (junior, Ankeny) had 11 points with three 3-point goals while center Allison Van Gorp (junior, Pella, Pella Christian HS) had a game-high eight reobunds.
Central was outshot 40.8% to 34.4% and outrebounded 39-34.
But Weiland is convinced that wins against top-tier opponents are coming for his rapidly improving club.
“I think they’re starting to truly believe it,” he said. “They’ve been told for so long they’re right there. I think they’re starting to realize that we can play with anybody as long as we do it together on both ends of the court. And we do it with toughness and discipline.”
Central is at Indianola Wednesday for a women’s-men’s doubleheader with Simpson College starting at 5:30 p.m. Simpson defeated the Dutch at Pella 63-56 in the conference season opener Nov. 21. Simpson is 10-7 overall and 5-3 in the league after an 83-76 double-overtime loss at the University of Dubuque Saturday.
