DUBUQUE—Playing without its leading scorer from last season, the Central College women's basketball team cruised past Emmaus Bible College Tuesday, 76-51.
           
Statistics were not available but forward Kendall Brown (senior, Moravia) led the Dutch in scoring while guards Maci Gambell (freshman, Hedrick, Pekin HS) and Kelsea Hurley (freshman, Scottsdale, Ariz., Desert Mountain HS) were both in double figures.
           
"It was nice to have three players in double figures," coach Joe Steinkamp said.
           
The Dutch (2-0) eventually broke the game open and Steinkamp was able to empty the bench against Emmaus (1-4).
           
"We came out a little bit sluggish but we really turned it on in the second half," he said. "We really passed the ball well and we did a better job defensively of keying in on their better players and taking away easy shots.
           
"It was nice to get everybody in there. Everybody that dressed played and we had a few kids get their first varsity basket, that's always fun."
           
The Dutch are adjusting to playing without guard Jenna Clark (sophomore, Story City, Roland-Story HS). She averaged a team-high 10.9 points as a freshman last year but was injured in Central's season-opening win over Grinnell College at Pella Friday night and is out indefinitely.
           
"It's kind of a work in progress until we find more information on how bad (the injury is) going to be," Steinkamp said. "Right now we have a lot of people learning new positions and new roles on the fly. It will be good to have the rest of the week to be able to practice and get so everyone knows where they need to be. Even though only one person is out, it affects multiple people and where they play. So we're trying to figure out the best way to play without her."
           
Central is home again Saturday for a non-conference contest with Knox College (Ill.) at 3 p.m. at P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium.
           
Knox defeated the Dutch at Galesburg, Illinois last year 62-53. The Prairie Fire opened with a 77-67 loss to North Central College (Ill.) Saturday.
           
"They play a 2-3 zone defense that gave us some problems at their place last year," Steinkamp said. "They're a pretty athletic team with a couple of dynamic scorers and some bigger players inside as well.
           
"It will be good to play against another different style. It will be a different type of challenge."