EAU CLAIRE, WIS.—The best way for the Central College women's basketball team to erase memories of Friday's opening-night loss was to see the ball go through the hoop.
The Dutch did a lot of that Saturday, draining more than 60% of their second-half shots and knocking off 2023 NCAA Division III tourney qualifier Wisconsin-Eau Claire 69-53 for first-year coach
Justin Weiland's first Central win.
"Our shot selection tonight was just so much better," Weiland said. "We were so efficient. We were just way more disciplined and that was our key."
Playing in the Wis.-Eau Claire Tip-Off Classic, Central (1-1) put four players in double figures, led by guard
Abby Johnson (junior, Ankeny) with 17 to go with eight rebounds and three steals. Guard
Samantha Scott (junior, Davenport, North Scott HS) had 13 points while center
Allison Van Gorp (senior, Pella, Pella Christian HS) and freshman guard
Emily Naughton (Indianola) each had 10 while guard
Gabby Moore (junior, Waterloo, West HS) added nine. Freshman center
CeCe Moore (Waterloo, West HS) had six rebounds.
"This was a total team win," Weiland said. "Everyone's fingerprints were on this win. That's been our message all along. We've got everything we need but we're going to need everybody to get there."
Wis.-Eau Claire (0-2) suffered heavy graduation losses after an 20-9 campaign but is an established program, Weiland said.
"That's a good team and a veteran coach (Tonja Englund) that's been there more than 20 years," Weiland said. "So we knew it was going to be a battle.
"We struggled on the road last year and for us to come and play like that against a really good program, that's huge for our team, especially moving forward."
Central used a 7-0 second-quarter run to break away from a 13-13 first-quarter tie. The Dutch were up 31-24 at the break, then stretched the lead by hitting 66.7% from the floor in the third quarter for a 51-38 advantage. Central led by as many as 18 points in the fourth quarter and shot 56.1% for the night while limiting Wis.-Eau Claire to 32.3% shooting. Central was seven-of-15 from 3-point range as Johnson and Scott each nailed three. The Dutch also held a 33-30 rebounding advantage.
"Our defense was fantastic," Weiland said. "We kept them under 15 points or less in every single quarter tonight. If you do that, you're going to win a lot of games."
Weiland has a bit of a homecoming Wednesday as the Dutch travel to Grinnell College for a 7 p.m. game. Weiland was an assistant at Grinnell from 2021-23 and saw the Dutch at Pella from the visiting team bench in a 73-57 Central win last season. Grinnell was an 80-66 winner over Central the previous season. Grinnell is 1-0 after thumping Crown College (Minn.) Saturday 77-45.
"That'll be a fun day, just getting an opportunity to see former players," Weiland said. "They've got a good team. They're a veteran team that's been there and played a lot of minutes. We'll celebrate tonight. There'll be a nice bus ride back, but we've got to come in ready.
"That was our message in the locker room. This is great, but it's one of many. We've got to keep going all year long."
