Luther rallies past Central for last women’s basketball tourney spot
PELLA-For three quarters, an American Rivers tournament berth was theirs.
But a 30-point Luther College explosion in the fourth period left the Central College women’s basketball team with an 82-71 defeat, a game out of the mix for a spot in the six-team tourney. Central ends its season at 11-14 overall and 5-11 in conference play. Luther claimed the final tournament berth and opens play Tuesday.
Central led the game for more than 31 minutes, including advantages of 38-34 at halftime and 56-52 after three quarters, but the Dutch were outscored 30-15 in the fourth quarter.
An Abby Johnson (junior, Ankeny) bucket put Central up 67-66 with just 4:37 to play but Luther seized control with a 14-2 run down the stretch.
Johnson hit nine of 12 shots, including four 3-pointers for 22 points while guard Jasmyn Williams (sophomore, Denver, Colo., Arvada West HS), who continues to flash promise with her quickness, came through with a career-high 19 points, including the first three 3-point buckets of her season. That gave Central a nice lift after a first-half injury sidelined point guard Emily Naughton (freshman, Indianola).
“She finished really well today and that was big, especially with Emily going down,” coach Justin Weiland said. “Giving us 19 points was huge and, for the most part, she was doing it within the offense. Hopefully we can use this to show her what she can do moving forward.” Johnson finished the season as Central’s top scorer with a 13.2-point average, including a team-high 60 3-pointers.
“They started face-guarding her in the second half and then it gets tough,” Weiland said. “We still want to call plays for her but at the point, it’s almost more using her as a decoy and try to find ways to get her open in transition.”
Central outshot Luther 40.3% to 38.8% but some of the other numbers were glaring. The Dutch entered the game among the top rebounding teams in the conference but were dominated on the glass 61-30. Equally painful was Central’s 21.4% effort from the free throw line, hitting just three-of-14 while Luther (11-14 overall, 6-10 conference) knocked down 24-of-29.
“Free throws is just a discipline thing,” Weiland said. “We made three-of-14 and they made 24-for-29. We’ve got to be more disciplined and not let them get to the free throw line that many times. And the rebounding hurt us all day, but really hurt us in the fourth quarter.”
The Dutch graduate hard-nosed guard Kassidi Steel (senior, New Sharon, North Mahaska HS), who endured an injury plagued senior season, and Van Gorp, who is finishing school in just three years.
“We lose a lot in those two,” Weiland said.
Yet in many ways, it was a freshman-dominated squad and while the sting from Saturday’s loss will persist for a while, as Weiland heads into his second year leading the program, he sees much to be excited about. The work, however, begins now.
“This is a huge off-season for us,” he said. “We’ve got to put in the work and that’s in the weight room and that’s on the floor. And then we have to get better individually. If our work ethic doesn’t match what our goals and expectations are, it’s going to be tough but I think these players are up for it. I really do. I think this is a very hungry group.”
