Erin Benson Feb. 23, 2008

Clark double-double in season finale for Central women

DECORAH—Freshman center Andrea Clark (Guthrie Center) recorded her seventh statistical double-double but Luther College ended the Central College women’s basketball team’s season with an 80-65 setback Saturday.  

The Dutch (4-21 overall, 2-14 Iowa Conference) again fell victim to a second-half momentum loss. They were within 34-32 at intermission but Luther ran up 46 second-half points in avenging its 67-63 defeat at Pella Jan. 9 and sealing second place in the league standings.

“We were right there at halftime,” coach Natalie Nakic said. “It was a back-and-forth game. But we didn’t hit our shots in the second half and they did. We had good looks but they just weren’t going down. It was an awesome effort.”

Clark had 18 points and 10 rebounds on the heels of a 27-point, 11-rebound performance Wednesday against Buena Vista. She finished her rookie season as the team’s leading scorer with 13.3 points a game. Her 332 points for the season are the most by a Dutch freshman since Molly Parrott racked up 374 points in 1998-99.

“Andrea played really well,” Nakic said.

Freshman forward Rachel Davy (Cottage Grove, Minn., Park HS) came off the bench to score a career-high 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting.

“Rachel’s coming into her own,” Nakic said. “It’s like today she just decided to do it. She was very aggressive offensively and did a great job defensively. She had a complete game.”

Guard Ashley Gerst (sophomore, Columbus Junction, Wapello HS) passed out a career-best nine assists and scored eight points while guard Jordan Waddell (freshman, Guthrie Center) also had eight points.

“Ashley broke the press for us and broke down the defense,” Nakic said.

While Central trailed most of the first half, buckets by Gerst and Clark gave the Dutch a brief 36-34 lead at the start of the second half. But Luther went on a 13-1 run and never trailed again.

Luther (15-9 overall, 12-4 conference) placed three players in double figures, shooting 50 percent from the field and a red-hot 71.4 percent from 3-point range (5-7). The Norse outrebounded Central 36-26.

Mary SwansonCentral hit a solid 49.0 percent from the floor but committed 25 turnovers.

Two seniors closed out their Central careers. Guard Mary Swanson (senior, Jefferson, Jefferson-Scranton HS) and forward Erin Benson (junior, Omaha, Neb., Northwest HS) each finished with five points.

“They just played their hearts out,” Nakic said. “That’s the way they wanted to go out. Mary hurt her shoulder and was wincing in pain quite a bit but she wanted to stay in the game. So we said OK and she just played through the pain.

“Erin was just a stopper for us defensively. She forced a lot of turnovers.”

Central’s record doesn’t provide an adequate measure for the strides the young Dutch made this year, Nakic said.

“If you’d measure the season in terms of improvement, we’d win the league,” she said. “These kids really came together. We had people stepping up day in and day out, trying to get better. We’ve got a good core of young players who give us a great foundation. The experience they gained this year will really help for the future.”