The Central College basketball teams struggled in their return to American Rivers Conference play Saturday, as the women fell to Coe College 81-39 and the men lost to the Kohawks 88-74.

In the opening game of the doubleheader heard live on 92.1 KRLS, the Dutch women (8-5, 1-3 A-R-C) couldn’t keep pace with an efficient Coe offense. The Kohawks shot 48.3% from the field and 39.3% from beyond the arc, while Central mustered just 25.4% shooting from the field. Coe got off to a blazing fast start, making five of six first quarter threes and 12 of their 14 shots overall to take a 29-8 lead into the second quarter. The Kohawks extended the lead to 51-17 at halftime and 73-26 at the end of the third, before the Dutch won the fourth quarter 13-8 shooting 40% from the field. On the defensive end of the court, Central forced 20 turnovers and had nine steals. Senior guards Abby Johnson and Gabby Moore each scored six points and recorded an assist and a steal.

In the nightcap, a slow start from the Central men’s team, allowed Coe to cruise to the 14 point victory. The Kohawks got out to a 45-29 lead at halftime by outshooting Central (7-6, 2-2 American Rivers) 51.5% to 44.4% from the field. In the second half, the Dutch narrowly outscored Coe 45-43. Owen Schipper led the squad with 21 points on 8-11 shooting from the field and 5-6 from behind the three-point line, while also adding seven rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal. Center Joshua Van Gorp returned from an ankle injury that kept him off the floor in Central’s games on December 28th and 29th, and contributed 16 points and seven rebounds. Bradley Curren had 15 points in the loss, while Kaleb Brand added 12 points on 6-10 shooting. As a team the Dutch men shot 48.5% from the field, and 43.8% from three.

Both Central squads will look to rebound next Saturday, returning to P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium for the first time in over a month to host Loras College in a doubleheader at 2 pm.