Coe College knocked down four straight free throws in the final 24 seconds to escape the Central College women’s basketball team Saturday, 66-61.  Coe, the defending Iowa Conference co-champs, couldn’t shake the Dutch until then. 

Central was within 28-24 at intermission, then rallied to take a 47-44 lead with 9:23 remaining. Coe used a 7-0 burst for a 62-54 advantage with 2:52 left, but Central answered with a 5-0 run and had the ball trailing 62-59 in the final minute, only to come up empty.  

Forward Nicole Strasko had 13 points while forward Alyssa Schwartz came off the bench to score 10 points with a team-high six rebounds.  The Central women are now 3-10 overall and 0-4 in the Iowa Conference, as they head to Indianola Wednesday for a conference doubleheader at Simpson College.