INDIANOLA, Iowa - The Simpson women's basketball team got its offense back on track Wednesday night, cruising to a 78-45 win over Luther at Cowles Fieldhouse.
After a 71-54 loss to Wartburg on Saturday left Simpson at .500 in the league, Wednesday's game was crucial for head coach Brian Niemuth's squad.
"For us, this was a must-have win," Niemuth said. "I thought the girls responded pretty well from the Wartburg game. We had two very good practices this week and that showed in how we played."
Kate Nielsen (Urbandale, Iowa) led the way with a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double off the bench for the Storm (6-2, 2-1 Iowa Conference), who recovered from poor shooting performances their last two times out.
"I thought we got into our running game better tonight," Niemuth said. "We did a better job of pushing the ball and running our lanes than the last few games."
After shooting only 29 percent in the previous two games, Simpson shot 46 percent from the field and hit eight 3-pointers.
Leading the charge from downtown were Jamie Elbert (Indianola, Iowa) and Chelsie Rohrs (Granville, Iowa). Elbert scored 14 points on 3 of 7 shooting from beyond the arc and Rohrs added 12 off 4 of 9 shooting from long range.
"That [hitting 3s] helps a lot because teams are doubling us in the post," Niemuth said. "We are going to get good shots from the 3-point line and we need to knock them down."
Simpson's bench played a significant part in the win, outscoring Luther's 57-2. Aside from Nielsen, reserve Morgan Terpstra (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) had a standout game with nine points and six rebounds after an injury to Ali Sokol (Urbandale, Iowa) sidelined the senior starter.
"She [Terprstra] did a good job on the boards and hit open shots," Niemuth said. "She hasn't had much varsity playing time in her career, but she showed she was ready tonight."
Taylor Johnson's 21 points led the Norse (1-6, 0-3), who dropped their sixth game in a row.
Simpson set the tone early in the contest, opening up a 22-4 lead in the first seven minutes which included a pair of 3s from Elbert and another from Cathy Kain (Des Moines, Iowa). The Storm went 5-for-11 from distance in the first half and shot 53 percent from the field.
Wednesday's game concluded conference play for the first semester, as the Storm travel to Wheaton (Ill.) for a non-conference contest Saturday, Dec. 10 in a 2 p.m. tipoff.