Five games into the year, Brian Ortmeier believes he has a good feel for his Iowa Central women's basketball team.

The Tritons improved to 5-0 with a 69-43 victory over Minnesota West here Wednesday night inside Hodges Fieldhouse.

All five games have come at home for Iowa Central, who will head to Minnesota this Saturday for its first road trip.

Carley West scored 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting, adding six rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block, while Nevaeh Moeschter added 11 points with four boards and three steals. 

Autumn Dykstra, Taylor McKinney and Tessa Grooms each scored eight.

"We really set the tempo early with our pressure defense," Ortmeier said. "They kind of changed some things up there and we got a little stagnant, but we were still able to execute and our intensity on the defensive effort never let up.

"Here in the early part of the season, that's what you want to see."

The Tritons opened the game on an 11-0 run and led 21-4 after the first quarter. That advantage grew to as many as 22, with Iowa Central taking a 33-12 lead into the break. 

Ten different players scored and all 14 recorded at least one rebound. Jayden Frank added seven points with seven rebounds, Nevaeh Galloway blocked three shots, and McKinney dished out three assists with four boards.

"I'm pretty happy with where we are five games in," Ortmeier said. "We've been able to really get some quality minutes for several girls and see what they can do."

For Minnesota West, Hunter Garcia scored 13 points and Dannyn Peterson had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Tip between Iowa Central and Rochester Tech on Saturday is set for 1 p.m. The Tritons next play at home on Wednesday, December 1 when they open ICCAC play with Des Moines Area at 5:30 p.m.

-By Dana Becker