WAVERLY — After trailing by as many as many as 23 in the first quarter, the Central College women's basketball team charged back to take a one-point lead in the third, but faltered on the road at No. 13 Wartburg, 69-54.
The Dutch (3-10, 0-2 Iowa Conference) stumbled off the bus, falling behind 26-3 in the opening quarter. But Central did not give in, going on a 27-10 run of its own to pull within six of the Knights (12-1, 2-0 conference) at halftime.
Central then topped Wartburg 18-17 in the third quarter, but could not sustain the momentum, as the Knights outscored the Dutch 16-6 in the final frame.
"I was really proud of our team's effort today," said coach Chelsea Petersen. "To go to the No. 13 team's home court and fight the way we did was a tremendous effort."
The Dutch shot 31 percent from the floor and knocked down 11-of-31 3-point attempts, their most in a game this season. The Knights outrebounded Central 46-42, helped by 16 on the offensive end, leading to 25 second-chance points.
"I felt like we defended well but it came down to too many turnovers and not boxing out," said Petersen. "We gave them too many second-chance opportunities."
Petersen also pointed to the fourth quarter as a spot that needs improvement.
"We have to score more than six points in the fourth quarter," she said. "We needed to score the ball at key times and didn't."
Freshman forward Claire Marburger (Perry) put her subpar night at Luther Wednesday on the back burners, going for 16 points. She tacked on four rebounds and tied a season high with six steals.
"Claire had a great stat line," Petersen said. "To not turn the ball over in 30 minutes and get six steals is tremendous."
Sophomore guard Jessica Helton (Nevada) poured in four 3-pointers on the way to 13 points.
"Jessica has been great for us lately," Petersen said. "She was active on the defensive end and found some good looks on offense today."
Freshman guard Kristin Hubert (Moville/Woodbury Central HS) scored a season-high 11 points off the bench on 4-of-9 shooting. Central relied heavily on its depth, getting 26 points from the non-starters.
"Kristin was a spark off the bench when we needed it," Petersen said. "She hit some key 3-pointers down the stretch to give the team some energy."
The Dutch will play their first home conference game Wednesday when Dubuque makes the trip to Pella for a 6 p.m. contest at P.H. Kuyper Gym. Both teams will enter the contest looking for their first league victory. The Spartans are 5-8 overall and 0-2 in the conference after dropping a home contest Saturday to Luther College.
"Both teams will be hungry for a win," Petersen said. "We need to slow down their top two players and focus on not fouling. We have to move our feet and not let them get to the free throw line."
