Central College staged a huge turnaround but couldn't sustain its momentum in a 62-53 women's basketball loss at Knox College (Ill.) Saturday.
The Dutch (2-4) trailed by 19 in the first half and were down 33-15 at intermission after being outscored 18-4 in the second quarter. But Central opened the third period with 24-5 burst, grabbing a 39-38 lead with 51 seconds left in the quarter on a 3-point bucket by guard Kristin Hubert (senior, Hornick, Woodbury Central HS). However, Knox (3-1) responded with an 8-1 run and Central never got closer than six points the rest of the way.
Cold shooting was again Central's undoing. The Dutch hit just 30 percent from the floor, including 23.1 percent (9-39) from 3-point range. Central sank one of 11 shots in the second quarter.
"I thought we defended them well, and we rebounded well, but we just couldn't make enough plays around the basket," coach Joe Steinkamp said, noting that 15 of Central's 19 turnovers came in the first half when Knox built its lead.
Things were different in a 24-point third quarter.
"We hit three 3-pointers in the first five minutes," Steinkamp said. "That allowed us to set up our press. They really struggled against the press but we weren't able to score enough to get into it."
Hubert and center Kendall Brown (junior, Moravia) each had 13 points.
"Kendall did a good job of getting position but with their zone, they collapsed around her and it made it tough to get her the ball," Steinkamp said. "She didn't get a lot of touches but when she did, she scored."
Brown also had seven rebounds as did forward Sami Craig (sophomore, Altoona, Southeast Polk HS) and guard Jenna Clark (freshman, Story City, Roland-Story HS). Clark had 12 points. The Dutch got six rebounds, three assists and two steals off the bench from point guard Cynthia Rangel (sophomore, San Antonio, Texas, William J. Brennan HS).
"Cynthia really sparked us in that run," Steinkamp said. "She made some nice plays off the ball."
Central outrebounded Knox 44-39.
"It's not fun losing but I don't feel like we're that far away," Steinkamp said.
Central makes a short trip to Monmouth, Illinois Sunday game with Monmouth College. Game time was moved up to 11 a.m. because of heavy snow and wind expected. The Scots are 4-0 after an 83-65 victory over Buena Vista University Saturday. Central last met Monmouth in 2016 and holds a 5-1 lead in the teams' all-time series.
"They're a completely different team (than Knox)," Steinkamp said. "They will be man-to-man on defense. They're not as big, but they have very good guards. We have to figure out a way to shut down their high-scoring guards and to score ourselves."