Box Score STORM LAKE—Forward
Kendall Brown (senior, Moravia) broke her own school season blocked shots mark and used pinpoint shooting to propel the Central College women's basketball team past Buena Vista University 77-58 Wednesday night in a record-setting regular-season finale.
The Dutch (15-10 overall, 7-9 American Rivers) will ride a three-game winning streak into its first conference appearance since 2005. Central has an off day Saturday while the remainder of the league slate is concluded but the Dutch are assured the No. 6 spot in the six-team tourney which starts Tuesday. Central will open at the No. 3-seeded team but tourney pairings are still to be determined.
Brown drilled 11 of 12 shots from the floor, raising her season field-goal percentage to a league-best 63.1%. She finished with 23 points and five rebounds while blocking five shots, giving her 74 on the season, one more than last year's record total.
"Kendall had an amazing game," coach
Joe Steinkamp said. "She sprinted down the floor so many times to get stuff in transition. (Buena Vista) threw everything they had at her, but she kept finding ways to score and our guards did a good job of feeding her the ball. She dominated the paint on both ends."
Freshman guard
Kelsea Hurley (Scottsdale, Ariz., Desert Mountain HS) added 20 points and three assists as Central shot a season-high 58.3% from the floor.
"Kelsea scored inside and outside," Steinkamp said. "She made some good plays off ball screens."
Yet the Dutch didn't break it open until the fourth quarter. They were up 33-25 at halftime and Buena Vista closed to 41-38 in the third period. It was 47-42 entering the fourth quarter before Central asserted command.
"We got a little sloppy at times but it always felt like we were in control," Steinkamp said. "We really defended them well the whole game. We did a good job of switching screens and not allowing them to get good looks."
Buena Vista (1-23 overall, 0-15 conference) shot just 25.8% from the field. Central held a 41-33 rebounding advantage. Guard
Emily Hay (junior, Stanwood, North Cedar HS) had eight boards.
Steinkamp also singled out guard
Maci Gambell (sophomore, Hedrick, Pekin HS) who had eight points. She drew the defensive assignment against Buena Vista's top scorer, Destiny Einerwold, who finished with 15 points but was limited to 4-of-13 shooting from the field.
"Maci really made her work for her shots," Steinkamp said. "She did a great job of beating her to the spot."
It was Central's first win at Storm Lake since 2009 and the team's 15 season wins are the program's most since 1998.
The Dutch will have some extra preparation time for the league tournament. They haven't won a tournament game since 2001 and will assume the underdog role Tuesday, but Steinkamp said his team's confidence is growing.
"The biggest thing is to believe," he said. "And the way they've improved and grown in the second half of the season, I think the players are starting to believe. Anything can happen at this time of year. It's exciting to be in this type of game."
