News Release

PELLA, Iowa — It’s a new season for the Central College women’s basketball team.

After eight straight losses, the Dutch are unbeaten in 2006, surprising Dubuque 76-59 and finally delivering a win for first-year coach Natalie Nakic.
Freshman forward Emily De Jong notched a double-double with 13 points and 12 boards as Central jumped ahead 4-0 and led wire-to-wire over the Spartans, who slipped to 7-4 overall and 1-1 in league play.

“Today our focus was us,” Nakic said. “Regardless of what Dubuque showed, we had to do our job. Everyone stepped up, whether they played two minutes or 32 minutes.”

Joining De Jong in double figures were center Maria Weiler with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting, guard Morgan Martin with 14, and guard Laura Porter with 11 points and a team season-high nine assists along with four steals.

Central outrebounded Dubuque 44-40 and shot 45.9 percent from the floor, including 51.4 percent in the second half. But the stat that really caught Nakic’s eye was turnovers. Central committed a season-low eight while forcing 18 from Dubuque, which shot 36.4 percent.

The Dutch were up 35-24 at intermission, then burst out of the gate in the second half, opening with a 14-2 run to extend the lead to 49-26. Dubuque climbed to 62-51 with 5:47 left before faltering.

Nakic said she anticipated Dubuque’s second-half surge but liked the way her club refused to fold.

“I called time-out just to tell them that I wanted to maintain our intensity but for the rest of the game, it was all about composure,” she said.

Central faces a challenge at home Saturday against league contender Simpson College in a 2 p.m. contest at Kuyper Gym.

“We’ve got a tough battle Saturday,” Nakic said. “But we know that regardless of what’s happened before or what games we should have won, this (the conference season) is what matters.”