WAVERLY—A rocky start for the Central College women's basketball team gave No. 19-ranked Wartburg College all the cushion it needed for a 74-48 win Wednesday night.
           
The Dutch trailed 11-2 less than 2 minutes into the game. Wartburg was up 21-11 after one quarter and 42-23 at halftime. Central (5-12 overall, 3-8 American Rivers) shot just 29.5% from the field and a chilly 21.2% from 3-point range. Wartburg (17-4 overall, 10-3 conference) eventually cooled as well, hitting 36.5% for the night. But Central also committed 24 turnovers and was outrebounded 50-43.
           
"Wartburg started out really hot and never really looked back," coach Joe Steinkamp said. "They did a good job of taking away our inside game. They double-teamed Allison Van Gorp (freshman, Pella, Pella Christian HS) and Annie Swaters (junior, Deepwater, Mo., Lakeland HS) pretty much the whole night. We did a good job of kicking it out and we got a lot of good outside shots, we just need to knock them down better."
           
Freshman guard Hannah Dau (Paullina) cracked double figures for the first time in her Central career, connecting on three 3-point goals and finishing with 13 points.
           
"Hannah continues to improve," Steinkamp said. "It was good to see her hit multiple threes. She's a really good shooter and we're looking for her to be more aggressive shooting the ball."
           
Guard Kelsea Hurley (junior, Scottsdale, Ariz., Desert Mountain HS) added 10 points and five rebounds. Van Gorp had a game-high 10 rebounds.
           
"Kelsea continues to be really efficient with her play," Steinkamp said.
                    
Central journeys to Decorah Saturday for a women's-men's conference doubleheader at Luther College at 2 p.m. The Norse are 7-14 overall and 4-8 in conference play after getting overwhelmed at home by Loras College 91-43 Wednesday. Luther and Central meet again in Pella next Thursday, Feb. 17.