PELLA—It was over and then, suddenly, it wasn't.
           
Down 19 and seemingly out in the third quarter against No. 13-rated Millikin University, the Central College women's basketball team clawed its way to within three in the closing minutes before dropping a 79-70 decision Saturday.
           
Millikin (10-2), which ranks second in Division III in scoring offense with 85.0 points per game, staggered the Dutch in the early going with its speed and defensive pressure after Central took an initial 9-8 lead. The Big Blue rattled off 13 unanswered points amid a flurry of Central turnovers and misfires. Millikin was up 25-14 after the first quarter and 48-33 at intermission.
           
But the young Dutch (7-6) were relentless, slicing the margin to 70-67 with just 3:45 remaining. Millikin used a decisive 7-1 burst in the next 2 minutes to secure the win.
           
"There are a lot more positives to take away from a game like this than there are negatives," coach Justin Weiland said. "We knew they were going to have a ton of ball pressure on us. We knew it was going to be physical. We knew they were going to try to take our passes away and not let us reverse the ball. But the biggest thing, we just weren't ready for the physicality and toughness of the game."
           
Yet Central learned and persevered.
           
"You can look at it however you want but I feel like we dominated the second half, especially late in the third quarter going into the fourth quarter," Weiland said. "We rose to the challenge and honestly went toe to toe with a giant in Division III."
           
Guard Abby Johnson (junior, Ankeny) was a big part of the comeback, hitting three 3-pointers and finishing with 17 points, three assists and three blocks. Center Allison Van Gorp (junior, Pella, Pella Christian HS) turned in her seventh double-double of the season and 17th of her career with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Forward CeCe Moore (freshman, Waterloo, West HS) had seven rebounds.
           
"Abby hit some big threes in the second half and Allison had another double-double, which is insane," Weiland said. "And I thought (guard) Emily Naughton (freshman, Indianola) on the defensive end was fantastic."
           
Central was outshot from the floor 47.1% to 46.6% but hit 40% from the 3-point line and outrebounded Millikin 40-35. Weiland was less enamored with Central's 28 turnovers and 8-of-18 showing from the free throw line.
           
"We can't turn it over 28 times," he said. "Can we cut that to 20? Can we make some free throws? Can we not dig ourselves an 11-point hole in the first quarter? Do that and we might be looking at a win. But we all knew this was going to take a little bit of time. That's what we've got to continue to work on every single day and that's what we're going to do."
           
American Rivers play resumes next week and another nationally ranked opponent awaits. The Dutch travel to Dubuque Saturday to take on No. 25 Loras College in a women's-men's doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. The Duhawks are 10-2 overall and 2-1 in the conference mark after an 81-66 non-conference home-court victory Saturday over Bethany Lutheran College (Minn.).
           
"I'm just really happy with the way that we fought back in this game and I'm excited to see where we go with these next 12 games," Weiland said.