WBB Preview: Storm at Coe, 1/21/17

The Simpson women's basketball team travels to Cedar Rapids on Saturday, Jan. 21 to play the Coe Kohawks for the second time in seven days. Coe came back from 15 points down to win the first meeting, 70-65 on Jan. 14 in Indianola. The game will air on KNIA 1320 AM/95.3 FM and online at KNIAKRLS.com. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.

GAME SETUP
Matchup: Simpson (6-10, 3-4 IIAC) at Coe (9-8, 4-4 IIAC)
Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa • Eby Fieldhouse
Time: Saturday, Jan. 21 • 2 p.m.
Last Time Out: Simpson beat Central 73-65
Radio: KNIA 1320 AM/95.3 FM
Live Audio: www.kniakrls.com
Live Video/Stats: www.CoeAthletics.com
Series: Simpson leads 42-11

THE OPPONENT
Coe has won 3 of its lat 4 thanks in large part to an offensive attack that shoots the long ball as well as anyone in the nation, ranking fifth in Division III with 151 3-pointers. Four players have made at least 15 3s on the season, led by Mickey Hansche's 52, the fourth-highest total in the country. Jenna Lehman is the team's leading scorer at 18.4 ppg, followed closely by Aleena Hobbs (17.1 ppg). Hobbs is second in the country with 104 made free throws, hitting 83.9 percent from the charity stripe. 

THE SERIES
Simpson and Coe meet for the 54th time in a series that dates back to 1977-78. Simpson leads the all-time series 42-11 but lost the first meeting this season, 70-65 on Jan. 14 in Indianola. Simpson is 19-5 against Coe in Cedar Rapids.

STORM STORYLINES
1 -- Since starting the season 1-6, Simpson has gone 5-4 in the last nine games. A big reason for the turnaround has been improved play on the defensive end of the floor, where the Storm are allowing just 62.6 ppg while holding opponents to 34.9 percent shooting. Simpson gave up 76.6 ppg in the first seven games of the season, allowing opponents to shoot 41.6 percent.

2 -- With four 3-pointers in Wednesday's win against Central, Janey Botkins improved her season total to 33, tied for fifth-most in the Iowa Conference. She has 19 more 3-pointers than anyone else on the team, putting her on pace to become the first Simpson freshman to lead the team in 3-point shooting since Carlie Beals made 46 in her rookie season of 2004-05.

3 -- Junior post Noreen Morrow has led the Storm in scoring in 11 of 16 games this season, reaching double figures in all but two contests. Among the Iowa Conference leaders in points (16.9, 4th), rebounds (8.5, 4th) and field goal percentage (55.5, 3rd), she is on pace to become the first Simpson player to average at least 15 points and eight rebounds since Kate Nielsen averaged 22.3 ppg and 8.8 rpg in 2012-13. 

4 -- Despite suffering nine losses this season, the Storm have rarely found themselves out of games. In six of the team's 10 losses, the Storm have led in the second half. The Storm have held second half leads in each of its last four losses, leading by as many as five in the fourth quarter of last Saturday's loss to Coe.

5 -- At 6-10 overall, the Storm need to win seven of their last nine regular season games to extend the program's streak of consecutive winning seasons to 20. The 1996-97 squad was the last to finish with a losing record, going 11-14.