DUBUQUE, Iowa – The University of Dubuque women's basketball team will play their first conference tournament game since 2015 on Tuesday, traveling to Central College for the American Rivers Conference Quarterfinals.
Match-Up | #5 Univ. of Dubuque (6-6) at #4 Central College (5-3) | Tuesday, March 9, 2021
Location | Pella, Iowa – P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium Date
Tipoff | 7 p.m.
Stream/Stats | https://portal.stretchinternet.com/central/
Series History
-Central leads the all-time series 49-29
-The Spartans and Dutch opened the conference schedule playing each other back on Jan. 23. Central edged out the Spartans at the wire for a 72-71 win over UD.
-This will be just the second time the Spartans and Dutch have squared off in the conference tournament. Central won the lone previous meeting 79-46 in 2001.
Last Five Match-Ups
Central 72, UD 71
Central 76, UD 56
Central 59, UD 46
Central 66, UD 59
Central 72, UD 66
About Central
-As a team, Centrals puts up 72.8 points per game while limiting opponents to 65.5 points per game, both are good for the third best marks in the conference after the regular season.
-The Dutch are led by Kelsea Hurley, the fourth leading scorer in the conference who has averaged 15.4 points per game in Central's eight games in 2021.
-Central handles the ball well, having the third best assist to turnover ratio in the A-R-C at 1.05 per game and the second most assists per game at 17.88.
UD Quick Notes
-The Spartans have reached the free throw line 41 more times than anyone else in the American Rivers Conference in 2021 and have the second-best free-throw percentage in the conference at 74.3% over 268 attempts. That 74.3% is currently the third best mark in a season in program history.
-UD should have a slight edge on the glass on Tuesday, as the Spartans had the third best rebounding margin in the conference at 2.8, while the Dutch were seventh at -4.3. -Despite 2021 being an abbreviated season with half as many conference games being played, the five conference wins in Justin Smith's first season are the most conference wins since 2016-17 and tied for the most since 2014-15.
-Tabria Thomas is a jack of all trades of the Spartans, leading the team in scoring at 13.8 points a game, while also averaging 4.9 rebounds per game, 2.0 assists per game and 3.0 steals per game.
Conference Tournament History
This is UD's 12th appearance in the conference tournament, building up a 4-11 record in the previous 11 appearances. The Spartans last win in the tournament came in the 2013 semifinals at Wartburg.
American Rivers Conference Tournament First Round Schedule
#8 NWU/#9 Luther at #1 Simpson
#5 UD at #4 Central
#7 BVU at #2 Coe
#6 Loras at #3 Wartburg
