Kelly Kruger witnessed a special effort out of his short-handed Iowa Central women here Saturday.

Playing with a limited bench due to injuries, the Tritons left Hodges Fieldhouse with an 85-74 victory over Southwestern.

Brittany West led five Iowa Central (13-12 overall, 4-8 in ICCAC) with 24 points, while Shariah Smith added 19 and Kira Ward had 15.

“Our kids really showed me something,” Kruger said. “We limited the turnovers, won the rebound battle and had a lot of good production from a number of players.”

Sophomore Tierra Itula is sidelined for the remainder of the season with a foot injury, while classmate Avery Terwilliger was also out.

West scored 13 in the first half to help the Tritons open up a 10-point lead on the Spartans (10-15, 4-9), who erased all of that by the end of the third.

Over the final 10 minutes, though, Iowa Central found its groove again, hitting nine of 12 field goals and converting 12 of 13 shots from the free throw line.

“I thought we finished the second quarter well to build a decent lead and ended the game well,” Kruger said. “We put a little something in different on offense to create more movement. Now, we just need to build off of this.”

Smith hit a big three-pointer with just over two minutes to go to give the Tritons a 10-point cushion. The Fort Dodge Senior High graduate also had six assists and four rebounds.

Jessica Jackson added 11 points and six rebounds off the bench, with Ward grabbing nine boards. Ceairra Smith chipped in five points, five assists and five rebounds.

“We got some good production out of Jessica,” Kruger said. “She brings an athleticism inside and I was proud of the way she played.”

Iowa Central returns to action here on Wednesday when they host Little Priest Tribal at 5:30 p.m.

IOWA CENTRAL 85,

SOUTHWESTERN 74

Iowa Central — Justice Crooks 5-10 0-0 10, Shariah Smith 6-12 5-5 19, Brittany West 8-15 4-5 24, Kryssie Okinaka 0-3 1-2 1, Kira Ward 6-9 3-3 15, Ceairra Smith 1-7 3-4 5, Jessica Jackson 4-5 3-4 11. Totals: 30-61 19-23 85.

Southwestern — Madelyn Moya 11-22 5-8 30, Kayela Willis 0-2 2-2 2, Jasmine Aviles 0-3 0-0 0, Vanessa Romo 3-9 0-0 8, Tina Lair-Van Meter 2-8 3-6 7, Paola Tavares 2-3 0-0 6, C’Anne Hunter 6-15 2-4 14, Kierra Brice 0-5 2-2 2, Remie Haynes 0-0 0-0 0, Simone Jordan 2-6 1-2 5. Totals: 26-73 15-24 74.

Quarter scores: Iowa Central led 14-13, 35-25, Tied 53-53. Three-point goals: Iowa Central 6-15 (S. Smith 2-5, West 4-8, Okinaka 0-1, C. Smith 0-1), Southwestern 7-26 (Moya 3-9, Willis 0-2, Romo 2-6, Tavares 2-3, Hunter 0-3, Brice 0-3). Rebounds: Iowa Central 44, Southwestern 43. Assists: Iowa Central 16, Southwestern 11. Turnovers: Iowa Central 12, Southwestern 14. Fouls: Iowa Central 21, Southwestern 20. Fouled out: Lair-Van Meter,