The Central College women’s basketball team earned its first Iowa Conference victory of the season with a 72-54 win over Cornell College yesterday Saturday afternoon in Pella.  It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Dutch, though, as the Rams began the game with an early 8-2 lead.  By midway through the first half, Central took its first lead and went into the locker room up 30-20 at halftime.  

Cornell made one final run early in the second half, but a sound half-court defense and efficient shooting put Central up for good and the Dutch cruised for the final 12 minutes.  Particularly impressive was the way the Dutch held Camille Marie-Lidd – the conference’s sixth leading scorer – to just 7 points.  

Forward AJ Baker had a monster day for Central, scoring 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor and sinking all four of her free throws.  She also led the team with 7 rebounds.  Alyssa Schwartz and Haley Brillhart each added a dozen points apiece in the win.

The victory also snapped a ten-game losing streak for the Central women, who are now 4-11 overall and 1-5 in the Iowa Conference.  The Dutch return to action on Monday with a road game at the University of Dubuque.