News Release

WAVERLY, Iowa — Despite an 18-8 run in the closing minutes fueled by guard Rachel Lenox, the Central College women’s basketball team’s visit to Wartburg College had a familiar ending in a 75-70 Iowa Conference defeat.

The Dutch, who were playing without injured starting center Cara Hegner, haven’t won at Knights Gym since 1987. They’re now 4-9 overall and 1-4 in the conference.

Wartburg, 7-6 overall and 2-3 in league play, led the entire game, and was up 43-33 at halftime. The advantage grew to 66-52, but with just 3:33 left, Central staged a frantic comeback, starting with a Lenox layup. She went on to score nine straight Central points in the next 1:38, but after a layup by forward Ashley Nekola, the Dutch were still down 72-63 with less than a minute remaining. But three-point buckets by Lenox and guard Katy Paxton, sandwiched around two Wartburg free throws reduced the margin to 74-69 with 33 seconds left. A free throw by Nekola made it 74-70 with 11 seconds remaining, but the Dutch finally ran out of time.

Lenox finished with a game-high 20 points, two shy of her season best. She also had four rebounds, four steals and two assists. Nekola had 13 points and seven rebounds while guard Aimee Schmidt had 12 points, six boards and five steals.

Central’s shooting improved over some recent chilly nights, but was still a cool 36.6 percent, while Wartburg was hot at 52.6 percent. The Knights also held a commanding 46-30 lead on the boards. However, Central came up with 20 steals, forcing 30 Wartburg turnovers.

Central is on the road again Saturday afternoon, meeting Cornell College at Mt. Vernon in a 4 p.m. Iowa Conference game.