DECORAH—Even amid the crushing disappointment of a last-gasp American Rivers tournament loss Tuesday it was clear.
           
This is a new era for the Central College women's basketball team. Less than two months after absorbing a 77-41 pounding Jan. 8 pounding at Luther College, the young Dutch squad returned nearly stole its first tourney victory since 2001 before seeing its season end, 58-55.
           
Third-seeded Luther (15-9) advances to Thursday's semifinal at Dubuque against second-seeded Loras College, which received a first-round bye.
           
After 15 years of frustration, the Dutch (15-11) were back in the conference tournament, yet they weren't thinking about the magnitude of the turnaround they're engineering under third-year coach Joe Steinkamp. They were playing to win and they saw too many late-game opportunities slip away to ease the sting of this one.
           
"We played well enough to win," Steinkamp said. "It could have went either way."
           
Luther opened with an 18-4 blitz in the first half but a late Central flurry cut it to 34-26 at the break. Riding a three-game win streak that included a 58-56 home-court upset of Luther Feb. 12, the increasingly resilient Dutch came clawing back in the second half. They used a 9-0 run to take their first lead, 40-39 with 3:41 left in the third quarter, and Luther was clinging to a 44-42 advantage entering the fourth period.
           
Guard Maci Gambell (sophomore, Hedrick, Pekin HS) gave Central a 49-48 edge with 6:25 left but it was the final Dutch lead. A Gambell lay-in with 51 seconds remaining pulled Central within 56-55, only to see three final Dutch possessions end with turnovers. They were among 22 Central turnovers. Those were costly, but so was allowing an 18-6 Norse advantage on the offensive glass. Luther outrebounded Central 42-36 overall.
           
Yet other numbers told a story of a young squad on the rise. Guard Kelsea Hurley (Scottsdale, Ariz., Desert Mountain HS) continued to emerge as a potentially dominant player in the league, scoring a game-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, with four 3-point goals.
           
"Kelsea was unbelievable," Steinkamp said. "She continued to mix it up, driving and shooting threes. She was tough for them to handle."
           
Gambell, a sophomore, added 11.
           
"Maci had a really nice game," Steinkamp said.
           
Central shot 52.3% in the second half and 45.8% for the night while holding Luther to an icy 29.9% on its home floor.
             
"I'm really proud of our team," Steinkamp said. "They never gave up. They kept taking it at them the whole game. In a tournament game on the road, if you give yourself a chance, that's all you can ask for."
           
That's not to overlook the efforts of the squad's only senior in the lineup, forward Kendall Brown (Moravia), who ended her Central career with another signature performance, recording 10 points, seven rebounds and a devastating five blocked shots. Brown finished with school records for season blocked shots (79), career blocks (238), game field goal percentage (91.6%, 11-12 at Buena Vista Feb. 19) and season field goal percentage (62.8). She entered the day ranked fifth in Division III in field goal percentage and 14th in blocked shots.
           
"Kendall has made unbelievable progress, from a back-up as a freshman, to a starter to an all-conference player," Steinkamp said. "She really elevated her game every year. There were times this year when she put us on her back. I really loved having her in the program."
           
The Dutch also graduate guard Mary Faulkner (senior, Glendale, Ariz., Sunrise Mountain HS), who transferred to Central prior to her junior year. She played a significant role initially before being lost to a season-ending injury. Faulkner was able to return in a reserve role this season.
           
"Mary battled back," Steinkamp said. "She's such a positive person. Her teammates just love her. She gave us a lot of intangibles and this team was better because of her."
           
Senior Emily O'Brien (Cedar Rapids, Jefferson HS) played for three seasons before serving as a student assistant.
           
"She cares so much about the program," Steinkamp said. "Her dedication is really appreciated by everyone on the team."
           
They're leaving a program with the arrow firmly pointing up. The progress was evident throughout the season, particularly in comparing Wednesday's showing to the early-January blowout at Decorah.
           
"We're just a different team," Steinkamp said. "We've gained a lot of confidence and showed a lot of toughness."
           
That made seeing it end even more difficult.
           
"It was an emotional locker room," Steinkamp said. "They didn't want to be done playing. They didn't want to be done being around each other."
           
It was Central's first conference tournament appearance since 2004-05. Central recorded its most conference wins (7) since 2001-02 and its most season wins (15) since 1997-98. And, with nine of the top-10 scorers bolstered by what Steinkamp hopes will be another impactful recruiting class, Central's ascent is positioned to continue. But it won't come easily.
           
"We need to continue to work hard in the weight room and work hard in the gym," Steinkamp said. "When you look at how often the home team wins tournament games like this, you can see how important it is to play well enough to get these games at home. It would be fun to play tournament games at Kuyper Gym in the future. We have a lot of dedicated players in this program. I'm confident we'll be back."