Brittney Carlson Jan. 19, 2008

Second-half rally but Central falls

DUBUQUE—Charging back from a 14-point second-half deficit, the Central College women’s basketball team still couldn’t overcome the University of Dubuque, dropping a 63-59 Iowa Conference road decision Saturday.

Trailing 45-31 with 16:49 left, Central outscored Dubuque 16-5 over the next 9 minutes and twice crawled to within two points. But the Dutch (4-12 overall, 2-5 conference) suffered through a 33.8-percent shooting night, including a chilly 3-of-24 from 3-point range.

“We had open looks,” coach Natalie Nakic said. “But we struggled putting the ball in the basket.”

Freshman center Andrea Clark (Guthrie Center) posted her third career statistical double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Guard Brittney Carlson (sophomore, Oskaloosa) added 18 points.

Dubuque (8-7 overall, 2-4 conference) got 18 points, 12 rebounds and six assists from forward Jennifer Nichols.

Nakic said defense fueled Central’s second-half comeback.

“At halftime the players recognized that even if we weren’t shooting well, if we picked up our defensive intensity we would create opportunities on offense,” she said. “Had we played defense in the first half like we did in the second half, it would have been a different game.

“We had some chances at the end but realistically it just came down to the fact that we didn’t play a full 40 minutes.”

Central faces a quick turnaround, returning home to tackle nationally ranked Simpson College, a 77-54 winner over Loras College Saturday. Simpson, 14-1 overall and 6-0 in the league, is ranked No. 9 in the D3hoops.com and WBCA/USA Today polls