Luther takes down Central in women's basketball regular season finale
The Dutch earn the six seed in the A-R-C tournament
Decorah, IA (02/24/2025) — After three close quarters, the Central College women's basketball team went cold in the fourth quarter and lost its final regular season game 65-48 to Luther College.
The game was tied 31-31 at halftime and the Norse led 44-42 at the end of the third but Central only made one field goal in the final frame. Luther ended up out scoring the Dutch 21-6 in the fourth quarter.
"The game didn't go our way, we were getting good looks from three, but the shots weren't falling," said coach Justin Weiland. "We had some uncharacteristic play defensively and lacked some discipline in the fourth quarter and we couldn't recover."
Abby Johnson (senior Ankeny) led the team with 13 points while also playing 30 minutes. Emily Naughton (sophomore, Indianola) also reached double figures, scoring 10 points while also adding an assist.
Luther was able to force the Dutch into 19 turnovers including 11 steals, and it scored 18 points off turnovers compared to Central which forced 15 turnovers and scored 10 points.
CeCe Moore (sophomore, Waterloo, West HS) contributed eight points while also blocking three shots. Gabby Moore (senior, Waterloo, West HS) added six points, and Hannah Dau (senior, Paullina, South O'Brien HS) scored two points but led the team with four assists.
For the game the Dutch shot 30% from the field compared to 39.4% for Luther. Luther was also able to out score Central 44-24 in the paint.
The Dutch finish the regular season with a 14-11 record and 7-9 in the American Rivers conference. They will finish in a tie for fifth place in the conference but due to tiebreakers will be the six seed in the A-R-C tournament. Central will hit the road and travel to Indianola to take on Simpson College Tuesday at 7 p.m.
"We are excited to extend our season and play in the A-R-C tournament and we are excited for the challenge of playing Simpson," Weiland said. "We will be ready to compete, and we know what we have to do to slow down their high-powered offense."