INDIANOLA—While it wasn't reflected in Saturday's score, Central College made strides in what coach Moran Lonning termed a pivotal year in launching a turnaround for the women's basketball program.
           
Fifteen first-half turnovers and some blistering early shooting by Simpson College resulted in a season-ending 80-65 defeat for the Dutch Saturday. Simpson (15-10 overall, 10-6 American Rivers) used a full-court press to set up easy baskets in racing to a 49-23 halftime lead, hitting 60.0% from the floor in the half.
           
"It was hard to bounce back from that," Lonning said. "But I've got to say, we still played hard. We outrebounded them and we outscored them in the second half. But you've got play a full game."
           
Central (8-17 overall, 5-11 conference) had a 42-31 second-half advantage and outrebounded Simpson 44-28. But the Dutch were outshot for the game, 49.2% to 40.6%.
           
Center Allison Van Gorp (sophomore, Pella, Pella Christian HS) posted her seventh double-double of the year with a game-high 22 points and 12 rebounds.
           
Guard Abby Johnson (sophomore, Ankeny) had 11 points and guard Kelsea Hurley (senior, Scottsdale, Ariz., Desert Mountain HS) finished with 10. Point guard Hannah Dau (sophomore, Paullina, South O'Brien HS) had six assists.
           
Johnson finished as the team's leading scorer for the season with 13.9 points per game while Hurley averaged 13.5 and Van Gorp added 12.3. Van Gorp had a team-best 8.9 rebounds.
           
Hurley, a four-year starter, moved into 10th place on Central's career scoring list with 1,128 points. She hit 50 3-point goals this year, which ranks ninth on the school charts, and finished with 164 for her career, the second-most in school history.
           
Other seniors include guard Danae Greig (Albany, Ore., West Albany HS), guard Jessica Carithers (Mackinaw, Ill., Deer Creek-Mackinaw HS) and forward Annie Swaters (Deepwater, Mo., Lakeland HS).
           
"I'm thankful I got to be a part of their careers here for their final year," Lonning said. "I hope I enhanced it. They definitely enhanced my life and the left the program in a better place. They're each so different but I think a group that relates to every single person on the team. They're good leaders and caring, confident women."
           
It's otherwise a young club, with just one junior. Lonning is excited about the road ahead.
           
"Most of our team is underclassmen so, yes, I think we have a lot to build off of this year."
           
And she's confident they will.
           
"I think this was a great start to building, with the amount of overtime games and one-possession games we were in," she said. "We wish we would have won them, yes, but I think we learned a lot. Maybe these seniors won't experience the actual wins we have in the future but hopefully they'll know how important they were in this pivotal year of starting that rebuild."