PELLA— A promising start unraveled in the third quarter for the Central College women's basketball team as Loras College pulled away for a 76-56 win Saturday.
           
Central bolted to a surprising 17-10 lead, was up 19-18 after the first quarter and within 33-30 at intermission. But Loras (14-6 overall, 8-3 American Rivers) nailed five of nine 3-point shots in the third quarter, reeling off 18 unanswered points. The Duhawks exploded for a 27-point period and a 60-40 advantage. Central, which shot a torrid 57.1% in the first quarter, shot 28.6% in the third quarter and 36.4% for the game. The Dutch clamped down in the other three periods, limiting Loras to 37.3% for the game. Central also held a 44-37 rebounding advantage.
           
But Loras knocked down 15 3-point baskets and took advantage of 22 Central turnovers. Loras guard Hannah Thiele came off the bench and hit seven 3-pointers, finishing with 23 points.
           
"They hit 15 threes," coach Joe Steinkamp said. "For us to pull the upset, that wasn't the recipe."
           
Still, Steinkamp liked the overall performance.
           
"We played with a lot of great energy," he said. "They're a really explosive offensive team and we held them in check for probably 75% of the game but that third quarter got away from us."
           
Center Allison Van Gorp (freshman, Pella, Pella Christian HS) had eight first-quarter points and finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Forward Annie Swaters (junior, Deepwater, Mo., Lakeland HS) had 11 points.
           
"I though our inside game with Allison and Annie was excellent today to the point where they really had to start double-teaming and make us make some threes," Steinkamp said.
           
Guard Kassid Steel (sophomore, New Sharon, North Mahaska HS) had six assists and guard Emma Wright (senior, Eau Claire, Wis., Memorial HS) had four.
           
Steinkamp is seeing continued development in his young squad.                           
           
"A lot of different people are starting to step up," he said. "We're really starting to see some maturity across the board and really feel like we're in a good place. We've been playing a lot better lately.
           
"We're so much better than we were a month ago, and we're finally getting to play games and learn from them."
           
Central embarks on yet another three-game week Monday, taking on Nebraska Wesleyan University for the second time in six days. The Dutch were 58-46 winners at Lincoln, Nebraska last Wednesday. The teams clash Monday at 6:30 p.m. at P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium. The Prairie Wolves are 4-16 overall and 2-10 in the league after getting tripped by Wartburg College 69-52 at home Saturday. A video webcast and live stats for Monday's action can be accessed at athletics.central.edu.
           
"This has happened across the league already with teams playing back-to-back and weird things have happened a few times where one team wins one game and another team wins the other," Steinkamp said. "We can't just assume we're going to win. We have to come out with the same energy we had when we played at their place last week."