After spending 14 minutes building a surprising 5-point lead, the Central College women’s basketball team spent the rest of the night trying to regain its offensive punch and sustained an 81-47 setback at No. 6-ranked Washington-St. Louis yesterday. A Kelsey Schuring layup put Central up 27-22 with 5:47 left in the first half. But Washington put on a 19-1 run before taking a 41-29 halftime lead as the Dutch committed seven turnovers in the final 4:18 of the period.  

Central shot a frigid 17.9 percent in the second half and 28.6 percent for the game. The Dutch were also dominated on the glass, 61-37.  Central failed to have a player crack double figures. Schuring, Cory Bacon, Jordan Waddell and Alyssa Schwartz each scored seven points.

Central remains in St. Louis to take on Webster University today at 1 p.m. The Gorloks are 4-3. It’s the first-ever women’s basketball meeting between the two schools.