The Central basketball teams were unable to knock off Wartburg on Wednesday night in a couple of hard-fought battles. The Dutch fell in the women’s game 58-35, while the men’s team fell short of the victory 80-75.

Down three guards due to injury and their head coach due to non-COVID related illness, the Central women’s basketball team put together a scrappy defensive effort but came up empty on the offensive end in the loss to No. 14 ranked Wartburg. The Dutch held a 9-5 advantage after the first quarter, but Central went without a field goal in the final 14:56 of the half which led to a 24-14 deficit at halftime. The injuries at the guard positions hurt the Dutch as they committed 30 turnovers while shooting just 21.6% from the field for the game and 0-20 from 3-point range. Central managed to limit Wartburg to just 33.3% shooting and outrebounded the Knights 51-38. Kelsea Hurley had nine points while Allison Van Gorp had eight points and 10 rebounds. This was the Dutch’s second straight game against a nationally ranked opponent after falling to No. 1 Hope College (Mich.) last Wednesday in Florida.

The Central men’s basketball team staged a big second-half comeback to try and down the top team in the American Rivers Conference Wednesday but ultimately fell just short. The Dutch trailed by as many as 15 points in the contest but exploded for 47 second-half points and grabbed the lead late in the contest thanks to a 3-point bucket by Kade Terrell to put Central up 75-74 with just 1:38 remaining but the Dutch were held scoreless the rest of the way. Terrell led the way for the Dutch with 19 points while Josh Van Gorp and Kaleb Brand each had 10 points. 

The Central women’s basketball team fell to 2-7 on the year and 0-3 in conference play, while the men fell to 3-9 overall and 0-4 in conference play. The Dutch return to action this weekend as they travel to Dubuque this Saturday to take on Loras College. Central’s women’s-men’s doubleheader can be heard live on 92.1 KRLS.