Clutch 3s by Mauro help Storm women top Buena Vista 71-64

INDIANOLA, Iowa - Noreen Morrow scored 10 of her 14 points in the second half and Morgan Mauro knocked down a 3-pointer for a four-point lead with 51 seconds left as the Simpson women's basketball team beat Buena Vista 71-64 on Wednesday.

Morrow added 12 rebounds for her sixth double-double as the Storm (15-9, 8-5 Iowa Conference) remained in contention for the No. 2 seed in the upcoming league tournament. Mauro finished with 11 points and three 3-pointers, all coming in the fourth quarter.

Jasmyn Flynn-Graves had 19 points and five rebounds to lead the Beavers (14-10, 8-5). Buena Vista fell behind by 15 in the first half thanks to a slow start, making just one of its first 12 shots.

Morrow did most of her damage at the free throw line, going 12-for-14 to offset a 1-for-5 performance from the field. Britney Boland matched Morrow with 12 rebounds, the most important coming on the offensive end in the closing minute.

Simpson led 63-62 when Boland collected a Maddie Bosworth miss, then found Mauro for the open 3-pointer at the top of the key for a 66-62 lead. A miss by by Buena Vista on the next possession allowed Simpson to close the game at the charity stripe.

Mackenzie Haupt finished with 10 points and Whitney Van Wyk had five steals as Simpson won its second straight.

Simpson outrebounded Buena Vista 49-35, offsetting its 20 turnovers.

Buena Vista trailed 32-17 before closing the second quarter on a 10-2 run, pulling within 34-27 at halftime. Becca Pennington hit the go-ahead 3 with 8:04 left in the fourth, giving Buena Vista a 51-50 lead. Mauro answered with a 3 of her own to give the lead back to the Storm.

Buena Vista tied the game twice in the final 4:30, but Simpson had an answer each time. The first came on a Haupt jumper that made it 58-56 with 4:07 left and the second came from Mauro, who hit a 3 to make it 61-58 with 3:26 left.

Up next: Simpson closes the regular season at Loras on Saturday. The Duhawks (16-8, 9-4) beat Central 68-51 on Wednesday and lead Simpson by one game in the standings.