By: Dana Becker
Messenger Sports Staff
Iowa Central head women's coach Sabah Dickerson found plenty of positives to discuss following a season-opening 76-45 victory here Thursday vs. the Mount Mercy JV.
Dickerson, who begins her second year leading the program, also saw several areas that need to be worked on as the season progresses.
Returning sophomores Kaitlyn Tendal and Emily Theiss combined for 42 points to lead the way for the Tritons (1-0 overall), who raced out to a 20-12 lead after one and were ahead 42-17 at the intermission.
"Overall, I feel pretty good," said Dickerson, who was an assistant coach on the most recent national tournament-qualifying team. "We're a little beat up, so our bench was shorter than we had hoped. But I thought our speed in transition looked good, we shot 80 percent from the free throw line and we limited our turnovers to 12.
"Those are all big improvements for us compared to last season.
Iowa Central finished the 2022-23 campaign 14-15 overall and were tabbed for seventh in the preseason ICCAC Div. II poll.
Tendal, an all-region selection as a freshman, hit 10 of 20 shots from the field with three 3-pointers to go along with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. Theiss added five triples and recorded her first collegiate double-double with 11 rebounds.
"We kind of expected that those two would lead us early on," Dickerson said. "I told the girls after that this was a great first start. We always love kicking off the season here at Hodges Fieldhouse and this was a wonderful way to do it."
Fort Dodge Senior High graduate Lainey Maehl recorded nine rebounds with a block, a steal and two points scored. Laney Pilcher added 10 points and Alicia Hatlestad had nine points and five rebounds.
For Mount Mercy JV, Taylor Rose scored 10 points and grabbed eight boards.
The Tritons return to action Monday when they host Central-Columbus at 5:30 p.m.
IOWA CENTRAL 76, MOUNT MERCY JV 45
Iowa Central — Alicia Hatlestad 2-6 5-7 9, Kaitlyn Tendal 10-20 0-0 23, Laney Pilcher 5-14 0-0 10, Emily Theiss 5-13 4-4 19, Lainey Maehl 0-2 2-2 2, Amaya Terrell 1-5 1-2 4, Alyssa Lux 3-12 0-0 6, Olivia Miller 1-3 0-0 3. Totals: 27-75 12-15 76.
Mount Mercy JV — Xenia Cavalie Gil 2-9 1-2 6, Taylor Rose 3-9 2-4 10, Iva Sicar 4-7 1-1 9, Yasmine Charles 3-12 1-4 9, Lia Lucero 3-10 0-2 7, Maria Santana 1-6 0-0 2, Roree Cowley 0-2 0-0 0, Taylor Wells 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 17-58 5-13 45.
Quarter scores: Iowa Central led 20-12, 42-17, 65-38. Three-point goals: Iowa Central 10-29 (Hatlestad 0-4, Tendal 3-8, Pilcher 0-1, Theiss 5-9, Maehl 0-1, Terrell 1-1, Lux 0-2, Miller 1-3; Mount Mercy JV 6-21. Total rebounds: Iowa Central 52, Mount Mercy JV 39. Assists: Iowa Central 16, Mount Mercy JV 8. Steals: Iowa Central 13, Mount Mercy JV 9. Blocked shots: Iowa Central 2, Mount Mercy JV 7. Turnovers: Iowa Central 12, Mount Mercy JV 24. Personal fouls: Iowa Central 16, Mount Mercy JV 16. Fouled out: Gil.