FULTON, MO.—Central College guard
Kelsea Hurley (senior, Scottsdale, Ariz., Desert Mountain HS) poured in a career-high 27 points, including a pair of game-tying free throws with 5 seconds remaining in overtime, only to see Westminster College (Mo.) escape with an 88-86 win Friday.
Hurley, who is averaging a team-best 14.1 points a game and is just 40 shy of the career 1,000-point plateau, was 8-of-16 from the floor and knocked down three 3-point goals as well as all eight free throw tries. She also notched her third career double-double, pulling down 11 boards to go with five steals and two blocks.
Guard
Abby Johnson (sophomore, Ankeny), back after missing two games with injury, came off the bench to add 18 points while center
Allison Van Gorp (sophomore, Pella, Pella Christian HS) had 16 points and eight rebounds
But Central (3-9), which raced to a 27-13 lead with 1:29 left in the first quarter and shot 70.6% in the period, saw Westminster steadily chip away. The Dutch lead was cut to 46-41 at intermission and 60-57 after three quarters before Westminster (6-6) took a 64-63 lead with 7:21 left. But Hurley's 3-point play and a bucket by guard
Abby Johnson (sophomore, Ankeny) gave Central a 68-64 advantage. The Dutch were still up 73-66 with 3:26 remaining, only to have Westminster hit a tying basket with 21 seconds left and regulation ended at 75-75.
Central again broke out on top in the extra period and Hurley's 3-point goal made it 82-77 at the 3:06 mark. A Westminster free throw gave the Owls an 86-84 lead with just 10 seconds remaining, but Hurley drew a foul 5 seconds later and swished both free throws. Westminster's Shelby Kurtz drove the lane and was stopped by a Dutch double team, but a foul was called with 0.7 seconds left and she sank the winning free throws.
Westminster held a slight shooting edge, 43.8% to 41.7% although Central drilled 19 of 22 free throws (86.4%). The Dutch were outrebounded 47-41.
Central resumes American Rivers play Wednesday, traveling to Waverly for a women's-men's doubleheader at Wartburg College starting at 5:30 p.m. A perennial title contender, Wartburg is 7-4 overall and 3-0 in conference play after sweeping a pair of games in its own holiday tournament, defeating the University of Northwestern (Minn.) 64-55 Thursday and Bethany Lutheran College (Minn.) 78-44 Friday afternoon.
