INDIANOLA, Iowa – The No. 12 Simpson College women's basketball team handed No. 5 Wartburg its first loss of the season on Saturday afternoon as the Storm posted a convincing 90-74 victory inside Cowles Fieldhouse to push their win streak to four.
The Storm (7-1, 3-0 A-R-C) showed off their long-range ability during the contest as they connected on 15 three-pointers including five in the opening five minutes to boast a commanding lead early in the game. Simpson's offense continued to shine throughout the remainder of the contest as the Storm led by as many as 31 over the nationally-ranked Knights (7-1, 2-1 A-R-C).
In the last meeting between the two teams, Regan Freland scored 17 points with five three-pointers including a last-second triple that gave Simpson an 81-80 double overtime victory on the road. On Saturday, the Prairie City, Iowa product continued her dominance against the Knights with a career-high 23 points to lead all scorers. She matched her five trifectas from last March and made 4-of-8 shot attempts inside the arc while contributing four rebounds and two steals.
Cassie Nash, Kia Rasmussen, and Anna Wanek each tallied 15 points and shot a combined 62.1 percent from the floor including 53.3 percent from deep. K. Rasmussen scored all her points from behind the arc and had a season-high seven assists, Wanek made three triples and finished third on the team with six rebounds, and Nash went 7-10 from the floor and had four steals.
Cameron Kincaid was one assist shy of a double-double with 11 points and a career-high nine helpers, while Jenna Taylor was one point away from a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds. With those totals, Taylor became the fifth student-athlete in program history to reach 1,300 points and 600 rebounds while at Simpson.
K. Rasmussen opened the game with three and the Storm made four of their next six attempts from downtown to jump out to a 20-3 lead after just half a quarter had passed. Wartburg clawed its way back within six to start the second frame, but Simpson responded with a 20-6 run fueled by 10 points from Freland and five from Kincaid to lead by 19 with 2:18 left in the half. A layup from Nash put Simpson ahead 44-29 going into the break.
In the third quarter, the Storm used a balanced scoring attack and tough defense to outscore their guests 31-16. Simpson shot 65.0 percent from the floor (13-20) while holding its opponent to a 33.3 percent shooting clip (6-18) during the frame. The Knights won the fourth quarter 29-15 to set the final margin at 16 points, the Storm's largest win over Wartburg since a 21-point victory during the 2009-10 season.
Up Next
Simpson will compete in two non-conference tournaments over break before returning to Cowles Fieldhouse on Jan. 5 against Buena Vista. The Storm will take on Alfred and Westminster in Daytona, Fla. on Dec. 20-21 and Wis.-La Crosse and Bethany Lutheran in Dubuque on Dec. 29-30.
Rankings are based on the latest d3hoops.com poll.