LINCOLN, NEB. — A down-to-the-wire contest went against the Central College women's basketball team Wednesday night, losing 76-73 to Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Neb.

Central (7-17, 2-13 Iowa Conference) had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds but a 3-pointer from the school's all-time leader in trifectas Emily Dine (Oldsmar, Fla., East Lake HS) but only drew iron.

The Dutch faced a 12-point deficit with 4:33 left in the game before storming back to cut the lead to just one after a 3-pointer from junior guard Kristin Hubert (Moville, Woodbury Central HS) with 1:30 remaining. A few empty possessions and a pair of free throws from the Prairie Wolves (14-11, 5-11 Iowa Conference) extended their lead to three with six seconds on the clock.

"I was really happy with our effort," said coach Joe Steinkamp. "We were very efficient in the half court offensively and especially in the second half I thought we defended pretty well."

Central had a quartet in double figures with Dine and sophomore forward Kendall Brown (Moravia) each scored 14 points. Brown was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field and grabbed three rebounds. Dine was 4-of-11 from three-point range, grabbed five rebounds and dished four assists.

"I was pleased with Kendall tonight," said Steinkamp. "She had some really nice finishes around the rim and nice passes in the press. She also did a nice job rebounding in the second half."

The conference leader in rebounds was at it again Wednesday, Jackie Kriegel (Marengo, Iowa Valley HS) grabbed 15 rebounds and scored 13 points in her ninth statistical double-double of the season.

"We thought Jackie had another great all-around game," said Steinkamp. "She was relentless on the boards and made some great finishes in traffic."

Senior forward Tina Lane (Williamsburg) had 10 points and four rebounds off the bench.

The Dutch owned the glass 48-30 and outshot the Prairie Wolves 51.1 percent to 37.5. Central had a season-high 31 turnovers which led to 34 points for Nebraska Wesleyan.

"We shot really well from the field and kind of dominated the glass," said Steinkamp. "The difference was the turnovers. So many of their runs were fueled by multiple turnovers against the press."

Central will honor eight seniors Saturday when Wartburg College comes to Pella for a women's-men's doubleheader with the women beginning at 2 p.m. Wartburg enters the contest ranked No. 2 by d3hoops.com. A webcast and live stats can be found at athletics.central.edu