PELLA—At last, a win streak.
           
It may be a small step but a significant one as the Central College women's basketball team notched its third straight conference win for the first time since 2002 with a 71-56 American Rivers triumph over Buena Vista University Wednesday night.
           
The Dutch (11-6 overall, 3-5 conference) bolted to a 26-10 lead and were in command throughout. Buena Vista slid to 1-15 overall and 0-7 in the league.
           
Forward Payton Rogers (junior, Moravia) recorded her first career statistical double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds in a reserve role.
           
"Peyton Rogers is playing the best basketball of her life," coach Joe Steinkamp said. "She just gives us so much energy off the bench and to get a double double in only 18 minutes is just unbelievable. She plays so hard. She had some great hustle plays and some blocks. I'm just really happy for her. She's put a lot of time and work in the offseason to get to this point and her hard work is really paying off."
           
Forward Kendall Brown (senior, Moravia) had 13 points, six boards and two blocks, guard Kelsea Hurley (freshman, Scottsdale, Ariz., Desert Mountain HS) had 12 points, five rebounds and a team-high five assists and guard Maci Gambell (sophomore, Hedrick, Pekin HS) had 10 points and seven rebounds.
           
Steinkamp said Central set the tone early.
           
"The first quarter was great," he said. "We came out with a lot of energy and really got the pace going the way we wanted. We got stops, got rebounds and got out and ran. The ball was moving, we got open jumpers and we really just did a good job attacking off the dribble. Maci (Gambell), Kelsea (Hurley) and Carson (Fisk) (freshman, Searsboro, Lynnville-Sully HS) were able to get in the paint with dribble penetration and got us off to a great start."
           
However, Central mustered just 12 points in the second period.
           
"Their pressure picked up a little bit," he said. "And we don't have a lot of experience playing with that kind of lead. I just didn't like our intensity there for a couple minutes. I thought we ended the half on a pretty good high note but we've got to do a better job of playing with the same intensity when you have a lead as when you don't."
           
Central outshot Buena Vista 45.3% to 33.3% and outrebounded the Beavers 46-34.
           
Central travels to Cedar Rapids Saturday for a rematch with Coe College in a women's-men's doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. The Kohawks trimmed Central at Pella 59-47 Jan. 4 and are 10-7 overall and 5-3 in the league after tumbling 72-54 against No. 12 Loras College at home Wednesday night.
           
"That's a game where we feel like we can play better than we did when they were here," Steinkamp said. "We thought we defended them pretty well but we just have to find ways to take care of the ball better and make sure we get a shot on every possession. They're a great half-court defensive team so we have to we have to be sharp to get our offense going."
           
The three-game conference streak is a sign of the progress the program is making under Steinkamp.
           
"It's a step," he said. "It's definitely good to win three conference games in a row. We only won three conference games all last year. But even before we won these three we really felt like we were starting to play better basketball. Sometimes you get caught up in the wins but we just wanted to play better. I'm really impressed with our group. We've had three good weeks of practice here in a row now. I think it's a tribute to our team's leadership and that we keep coming to practice with a positive attitude and a lot of energy."
           
Saturday's games will be broadcast on KRLS-FM (92.1) and via www.kniakrls.com with Jon Mohwinkle calling the action.