Luther outshoots Central women’s basketball team
PELLA—An off-target first-half offense led to the Central College women’s basketball team’s second loss to Luther College in five days, 68-50 Wednesday.
Luther (9-15 overall, 6-9 American Rivers) bolted to a 12-0 lead as the Dutch misfired on their first nine field goal tries. Central (6-14 overall, 4-10 conference) climbed within 14-9 at the end of the first quarter despite shooting just 17.6% from the floor in the period. But the shooting woes continued in the second quarter when Central hit an icy 18.8% and was down 30-19 at the break.
“It was definitely not the start we were looking for,” coach Joe Steinkamp said.
A Kassidi Steel (sophomore, New Sharon, North Mahaska HS) 3-pointer cut the deficit to 35-32 with 4:49 left in the third quarter but Luther went on a 7-0 burst and wasn’t seriously threatened the rest of the way.
Central was outshot 48.2% to 42.4% for the game but Steinkamp pointed to Central’s 6-of-25 performance from 3-point range.
“More than anything, it was just really poor shooting from three,” Steinkamp said. “We just couldn’t get an open three to go down when they were sending a lot of help on our drives and our post-ups. We felt like we got a lot of clean looks and just couldn’t knock them down. On the other hand, Luther shot the ball well. I really think the 3-point line was the difference in the game.”
The Norse were 10-of-22 (45.5%) from 3-point range. They also outrebounded Central 49-33.
“I thought we defended well enough to be able to win,” Steinkamp said. “They only had 30 points at halftime and even though we weren’t playing well, we kind of held some people in check. They did get away from us a little bit at the end with some extra threes, but it was the offense that let us down.”
Center Allison Van Gorp (freshman, Pella, Pella Christian HS) had 15 points and six rebounds while Steel put in her usual strong floor game with nine points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals.
“I thought Kassidi Steel did a really good job of getting Allison the ball where she needed it in the post,” Steinkamp said. “She was everywhere on offense and on defense. She’s really proving she’s one of the best and most versatile players in the conference. I really like how she’s been playing.”
With its third game in four days, Central finishes the regular-season slate Saturday with a women’s-men’s league doubleheader against first-place Simpson College at P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium, starting at 2 p.m. It’s Senior Day for the Dutch, with two Central seniors—guards Emma Wright (Eau Claire, Wis., Memorial HS) and Hannah Wright (Eau Claire, Wis., Memorial HS)–honored prior to tip-off. Simpson, 22-1 overall and 14-0 in the conference, is rated No. 5 in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com and No. 6 by the WBCA. It’s the teams’ only meeting of the season as the Jan. 19 game at Indianola was called off due to health and safety protocols and was not able to be rescheduled.
A videocast of Saturday’s action and live stats can be accessed via athletics.central.edu. The games will also be broadcast on KRLS-FM (92.1).
“We’re excited to honor our two seniors,” Steinkamp said. “It’s always a special day.”
