PELLA — A strong second quarter by the visitors from Buena Vista University cost the Central College women's basketball squad a chance at an Iowa Conference win, as the Dutch succumbed to the Beavers 83-70.

At the end of the first quarter, the Dutch (4-17, 1-10 Iowa Conference) and Beavers (14-8, 8-3 Iowa Conference) were squared up at 14 points apiece. The Beavers offense caught fire in the second quarter, outpacing the Dutch 24-12.

"I felt we came out and played a really good first quarter," coach Chelsea Petersen said. "We got off to a fast start because we were executing offensively and defending well.  The game came down to two stretches of bad basketball by us, the first five minutes of the second quarter and the last five minutes of the third quarter."

Claire Marburger (freshman, Perry)had another big offensive game for the Dutch, totaling 24 points on the night, with 18 of them in the second half. The forward had nine boards, just missing her eighth double-double of the season.

"We talked to her at halftime and she really responded," Petersen said. "She was aggressive in the second half and looked to score."

Coming off the bench, forward Jackie Kriegel (sophomore, Marengo, Iowa Valley HS) was a defensive spark plug once again for the Dutch, providing eight rebounds and four steals.

 "Jackie was extremely active as always." Petersen said. "She created second chance opportunities for her teammates."

Also coming off the bench was junior guard Mariah Swartzentruber (Kalona, Iowa, Mid- Prairie HS), who hit a pair of 3-pointers.

 "Mariah came off the bench and knocked down some key shots for us," Petersen said.

Central will host Wartburg College for its final home game of the season Saturday at 2 p.m. in P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium. The Dutch will try to avenge the loss from the two team's first matchup of the season, a 69-54 Knights victory on January 9 in Waverly. The timing is ripe for a Dutch victory according to Petersen.

 "This is a team that's playing our best basketball of the year right now," she said. "We're offensively executing and we look better in stretches defensively."

Saturday's game will be broadcast on KRLS-FM (92.1) and live stats and video will be available at central.edu/athletics.