Comeback falls short in loss to Lewis & Clark

LAS VEGAS — Ayisat Afolabi turned in a double-double as Lewis & Clark held off Noreen Morrow and the Simpson women's basketball team 60-54 in the first game of the D3hoops.com Classic at South Point Hotel and Casino on Wednesday. 

Afolabi finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds and four steals for the Pioneers (8-2), who led by as many as 12 in the first half but had to hold off Simpson in the closing minutes.

Simpson trailed 57-54 after a layup by Katie Ahrenholtz with 3:48 to play but didn't score again, missing three potential game-tying 3s before Deja Nicholas made it a two-possession game on a layup with 43 seconds left. 

Morrow had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Storm (3-7), who saw their two-game winning streak come to a close. Amarissa Raley had nine points and Britney Boland added seven and six rebounds. 

The Storm trailed 18-6 late in the first quarter before mounting a 7-0 run to pull within five early in the second. Simpson trailed by three at halftime and took a 37-36 lead on a 3 by Raley with 4:59 to play in the third. A pair of free throws by Morrow gave Simpson a 44-43 lead before a layup by Rachel Cox gave Lewis & Clark a 45-44 lead. The Pioneers led the rest of the way.

Simpson committed 25 turnovers and shot just 5-for-26 from 3-point range. 

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Simpson closes the D3hoops.com Classic on Thursday against No. 23 Puget Sound. Tipoff is set for Noon Pacific, 2 p.m. Central.