Defense was the story in the women’s game, while Central’s men came back in the second half Wednesday night to split the doubleheader with Loras. Nobody cracked double digits in any category for the Dutch women in their 64 – 43 loss at the hands of the Duhawks. Central shot 40 percent from the field in the first half, but dropped off in the second to a chilly 26 percent, going 7-for-27 from the field. Hilary Beaird led in scoring with nine points for Central, who drop to 10 – 13 overall and 3 – 9 in the conference. Central’s women are mathematically eliminated from the postseason, and will wrap up their regular season against a ranked Simpson squad at home on Saturday. The Dutch men trailed by seven at intermission, but used a sizzling second half to come back and keep their Iowa Conference tournament hopes alive with a 71 – 68 victory. Central did not reach the free throw line at all in the first half, and shot 37 percent from the field. Things woke up for them in the second twenty minutes, as the Dutch shot better than 55 percent overall. Nick Marinkovich led all scorers off the bench with 24, and Branden Stubbs added 20 for the Central men, who break a seven game losing streak to improve to 10 – 13 overall and 3 – 10 in the conference. Central swept the season series with Loras, so they hold the tiebreaker over them, which means it’s win-or-go-home for Central this Saturday when they host Simpson in the regular season finale.