PELLA — The Central College women's basketball team could not find the bottom of the net Monday night in a 53-40 loss to Grinnell.

Central shot a season low 28 percent from the floor, knocking down just 13-of-47 shots.

The young Dutch (1-5) outrebounded Grinnell (4-3) 40-35 and limited them to 33-percent shooting.

"We played a solid defensive game," coach Chelsea Petersen said. "We had a lot of energy on the defensive end and boxed out well."

Central's struggles extended to 3-point range, making just 3-of-21 attempts against the Pioneers' zone defense.

"You have to be able to hit perimeter shots against a zone," Petersen said. "We were trying to pass the ball inside and it wasn't there because we couldn't make shots from the outside."

Petersen knows the shooting stroke will come.

"As committed as our players are, those shots will fall at some point this season," she said. "We are doing a good job of getting open looks."

Central tried to claw back in the game a few times in the second half, but could not get the key defensive stop.

"(Grinnell) was able to step up a couple of times at the end of the shot clock," Petersen said. "They hit big shots in the big moments."

Freshman forward Claire Marburger (Perry) notched her third double-double of the season, going for 11 points and 10 boards.

"We challenged Claire at halftime and she responded well," Petersen said. "She became much more aggressive in the interior."

Sophomore forward Jackie Kriegel (Marengo/Iowa Valley HS) tallied seven rebounds to go along with five points.

"Jackie played some great minutes off the bench tonight," Petersen said. "She continues to get her hands on rebounds and create additional offensive opportunities."

Freshman guard Kaitlyn Johnson (Stockport/Van Buren HS) added five points and five rebounds to the effort.

"Kaitlyn had a tremendous effort tonight," Petersen said. "She really dug in on defense and made some key plays."

Central has lost five straight after a season-opening victory.

"This is not the start we wanted but we will continue to get better as a team," Petersen said. "Eventually the hard work that this team is putting in will translate to wins."

The Dutch will take the court Saturday for a 2 p.m. contest at Augustana (Ill.).

"We have to focus this week and prepare for a good Augustana team" Petersen said. "We have to take tonight's loss and learn from it."