Offense explodes in Dutch women’s basketball victory
STORM LAKE— Four players scored in double figures, led by 22 from sophomore guard Carson Fisk (Searsboro, Lynnville-Sully HS) as the Central College women’s basketball team defeated Buena Vista University 93-76 on the road Wednesday night.
The Dutch (2-0, 2-0 American Rivers Conference) topped the 90-point mark in an American Rivers Conference game for the first time in Joe Steinkamp’s four years at the helm, by going up tempo.
“Offensively, we played at a really fast pace,” Steinkamp said. “We got so many opportunities in transition by running the floor. Playing fast was something we talked about before the game and we really did it well tonight.”
In addition to Fisk, guard Kelsea Hurley (sophomore, Scottsdale, Ariz., Desert Mountain HS) and forward Payton Rogers (senior, Moravia) both had 19 points as starters. Rogers was 9-for-9 from the field, just missing a school record. Guard Maci Gambell (junior, Hedrick, Pekin HS) came off the bench with 12.
“Anytime you can get three people scoring over 19, you know you are really scoring the ball well,” Steinkamp said. “Having four people in double figures is what good teams do.”
The Dutch recorded 20 assists, led by Hurley’s four. Fisk and Gambell each had three.
“We haven’t had many 20 assist games over the years so it was fun to see the ball moving like that,” Steinkamp said.
Hurley and Emily Hay (senior, guard, Lowden, North Cedar HS) each had seven rebounds to lead the team. Sami Craig (senior, forward, Altoona, Southeast Polk HS) added four steals.
Central will play its first home game Saturday night at 6 p.m. against Loras College in P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium. Loras advanced to the Sweet 16 of last year’s NCAA Division III tournament before it was cancelled due to CoVID-19.
“They’re still a very talented even team even though they graduated some good players,” Steinkamp said. “They play a fast style and they’ll get after us, but we’re excited to play at home and continue improving.”
A live stream of Saturday’s contest against the Duhawks can be found at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/central/
