Central and Luther’s basketball teams played to a women’s/men’s split in their conference doubleheader on Saturday. The Dutch women, decimated by injuries to Rachel Stump, Abbie Agan, Emily Neff, and Bry Pierce, still managed to make it a ballgame against the Norse, but came up short, 61 – 54. Second chance opportunities made it difficult for Central to capitalize on any stops, as the Norse grabbed 22 offensive rebounds, while the Dutch had just 24 total for the game. Luther finished with 47 total boards. Alison Malaby was a bright spot for Central, with 21 points, and Tina Lane threw in ten. Central’s men had to survive several late charges by the Norse to come away with a 92 – 89 victory. The Dutch had a ten point lead in the second half, and were up by seven with about a minute to go, but Luther kept answering back with prayers of three-pointers that continued to find the bottom of the net. Senior Nile Eckermann had 28 points, Colby Taylor dumped in 29, to finish the first week in the conference with 59 points and 20 rebounds, which should earn him player of the week honors. Central’s women fall to 9 – 4 and 0 – 2 in the league, while the men improve to 8 – 5 and 1 – 1, respectively. Both teams hit the road twice next week, first with a test in Waverly against Wartburg on Wednesday.

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