DUBUQUE—Fueled by a relentless rebounding effort, the Central College women's basketball team finally saw validation of its recent progress with a 69-63 road surprise over the University of Dubuque Saturday.
           
Dubuque (11-7 overall, 5-4 American Rivers) had defeated Central handily in Pella Dec. 3 63-48.
           
But the Dutch (5-13 overall, 2-7 American Rivers) nearly had three statistical double-doubles in securing a victory Saturday. Center Allison Van Gorp (sophomore, Pella, Pella Christian HS) was a force inside again with 20 points and 13 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season while guard Kelsea Hurley (senior, Scottsdale, Ariz., Desert Mountain HS) posted her third with 12 points and 11 boards and guard Abby Johnson (sophomore, Ankeny) had 16 points and nine rebounds. Central also got four blocked shots from Van Gorp and three from Hurley while Johnson and guard Hannah Dau (sophomore, Paullina, South O'Brien HS) each had five assists.
           
Coming away empty after overtime setbacks in their last two outings, the Dutch maintained their poise Saturday. A 14-point first-half lead slowly melted away as Dubuque tied it 58-58 with 4:59 left. But Central answered with a 5-0 run and sealed the verdict when Van Gorp and guard Kassidi Steel (junior, New Sharon, North Mahaska HS) each sank a pair of free throws in the final 32 seconds.
           
"I think our experience with those close games earlier finally paid off," coach Moran Lonning said. "I think we learned from them and became tougher. We got stops and we hit free throws."
           
The Dutch dominated the glass, 51-34.
           
"I don't think we've had that size of rebounding margin before," Lonning said. "That was the first thing I said in the locker room when I walked in: 51-34. That was a huge, huge difference. We had some timely offensive boards, too. We crashed really hard."
           
Central overcame a persistent Dubuque full-court press that forced 25 turnovers, but was efficient after crossing midcourt, holding a 48.2% to 32.4% shooting advantage.
           
"When you have 25 turnovers it's really hard to win a game, so it's impressive that we came out on top," Lonning said. "(The Spartans) are long and they're athletic. But we've just got to move forward and prepare for the next type of pressure that we're going to face."
           
Central is off until next Saturday when Coe College visits for a women's-men's conference doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. at P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium. The games will be broadcast on KRLS-FM (92.1) with Tyler Crabb calling the action and can also be heard via kniakrls.com. Live stats and a video stream can be accessed through the Central athletics website at athletics.central.edu. Coe is 13-5 overall and 5-4 in conference play dropping a 69-56 decision at home against Simpson College Saturday. The Kohawks, who also play at Luther College Wednesday before visiting Pella, defeated Central 63-60 at Cedar Rapids Dec. 10.
           
"What we have got to do is keep taking it one game at a time, one practice at a time, one drill at a time," Lonning said. "We're trying to really stay in the moment and grind."