CEDAR RAPIDS — Despite 27 points and 14 rebounds from freshman forward Claire Marburger (Perry), the Central College women's basketball team fell on the road at Coe Wednesday night, 76-54.
Marburger recorded her sixth double-double of the season on 12-of-22 shooting and was responsible for half of Central's points. She added three blocks and an assist.
"Claire was phenomenal tonight," coach Chelsea Petersen said. "She made great decisions, attacked the rim hard and had some great reads on the offensive end."
The Dutch (4-12, 1-4 Iowa Conference) shot 37 percent from the field, boosted by a 43 percent clip in the second half. Coe (11-5, 2-3 conference) connected on 43 percent of shots, including 42 percent from behind the arc, going 14-for-33 from long range. Central only knocked down 2-of-18 from 3-point range.
Petersen was displeased with the way Central defended the 3-point shot.
"We were a step slow getting to the perimeter," she said. "We didn't contest shots when we needed to and gave them too many open looks.
"This game came down to our defensive effort," Petersen said. "We as a team need to make a commitment on the defensive end of the floor and make it a priority to hold the opponent under 60 points."
Central's largest lead came at the 7:53 mark in the first quarter, a four-point advantage. But the Kohawks would go on a 20-6 run to end the first and outscore Central 20-11 in the second to take a 41-20 lead into halftime. The Dutch picked up the pace in the final 12 minutes of the game after trailing by 30 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Central outscored Coe by six points over the final 120 seconds of the third and then 16-14 in the final frame.
"In Iowa Conference play, we can't get down by double digits in the first half," Petersen said. "These teams are too good to have to come back from that kind of deficit in the second half."
While the late run by the Dutch looks nice on the scoreboard, Petersen knows they have to keep up that pace for 40 minutes to be successful.
"We have a point in every game where we play with a greater sense of urgency," she said. "One of our goals moving forward is to be aggressive the entire game and not just in certain moments."
She did see things she liked in the final minutes.
"We pushed the ball in transition much better," Petersen said. "We played smarter basketball and moved the ball for better looks at the basket."
The Kohawk bench played a large role in the outcome, holding a 24-4 advantage over Central's reserves. Coe also converted 14 Dutch turnovers into 16 points and won the rebounding battle 41-38.
Sophomore guard Emily Dine (Oldsmar, Fla./East Lake HS) joined Marburger in double digits with 10 points, while sophomore guard Alison Malaby (Mechanicsville/North Cedar HS)tacked on six points and seven rebounds.
Central will hit the road again Saturday, a 2 p.m. tilt at Buena Vista on the front end of a women's-men's doubleheader. The Beavers (9-7, 3-2 conference) took down Dubuque 83-66 Wednesday.
"(Buena Vista) is a talented team this year," Petersen said. "They have a post player who is playing extremely well and guards who are hitting big shots. We need to set the pace of the game early and not let them get in rhythm."
