Shooting woes slow Central women’s basketball squad
Central Dutch Athletics
PELLA—Cold shooting stymied the Central College women’s basketball team in its first season loss Wednesday, 69-53 to Bethany Lutheran (Minn.).
The Dutch (2-1) missed some early opportunities. They limited the high-scoring Vikings (3-0) to 11 first-quarter points and led 14-11 but struggled offensively and trailed at the break, 29-26. Bethany Lutheran broke it open in the second half, shooting 61.5 percent in the third quarter.
“We got off to a nice start,” coach Joe Steinkamp said. “We really defended well. Holding them to 29 at the half was encouraging, But we should have had a lead.
“If we wouldn’t have had so many turnovers in the first half, we might have built some cushion and been able to weather that run.”
The Dutch had 23 turnovers on the night and shot just 28.3 percent from the floor. Central was outsized and forced to rely on perimeter shooting, but knocked down just nine of 38 3-point shots.
Freshman guard Jenna Clark (Story City, Roland-Story HS) was an offensive bright spot. She hit four of nine 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 16 points.
“Jenna had another nice game,” Steinkamp said. “She shot the ball well from the perimeter, played good defense and had a good all-around game. I’ve been impressed by her.”
Center Kendall Brown (junior, Moravia) had 10 points and five rebounds.
“I thought Kendall really worked hard tonight,” Steinkamp said. “She got really good position in the post but wasn’t always able to get the ball, so sometimes it didn’t show. But she really battled.”
Steinkamp also cited senior guard Kristin Hubert (Hornick, Woodbury Central HS).
“Kristin did a great job defending (guard Haley Sandin),” he said. “She’s an all-conference player but Kristin really did a great job on her.”
Sandin was limited to six points.
Central held its own on the boards, getting outrebounded 41-39. The Dutch pulled down 12 offensive rebounds.
“We’ve had double-digit offensive rebounds every game this year,” Steinkamp said. “That’s one of our team goals.”
As always, it would all look better if the ball went through the hoop.
“We’re doing a lot of good things,” Steinkamp said. “But we’ve got to shoot the ball better and take care of it better.”
Central’s four-game homestand continues Saturday with a non-conference contest against Augustana College (Ill.), tipping off at 2 p.m. at P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium. The Dutch were overwhelmed at Augustana last year, 92-62, and trail in the teams’ all-time series, 6-5. The Vikings are 0-2, falling at nationally ranked DePauw University (Ind.), 68-58 Tuesday night. Central will also be home next Tuesday against Westminster College (Mo.).
“Augustana is a very good team,” Steinkamp said. “They’ve got four starters back from a good team last year. They play a completely different style from what we saw tonight. They play full-court press and pressure defense all over the floor. Last year we were close for a half but their pressure wore us down. We have got have the whole team ready to go.
“We look forward to the challenge. If we just focus on getting better and keeping a positive mindset, we’ll be fine.”
