Morrow looks to close in on 1,000 career points on the road

The Simpson women's basketball team is on the road this week, heading to Pella to take on rival Central (7-8, 2-4) on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 6 p.m. and traveling to Storm Lake to face Buena Vista (8-7, 3-3) on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 5 p.m.

The Storm (10-6, 4-3) stand at third place in the Iowa Conference after going 2-2 in the new year. Simpson lost both games last week, falling 71-56 at Coe on Wednesday, Jan. 11 and at dropping an 81-66 decision to No. 2 Wartburg on Saturday, Jan. 13.

Todd Guessford will have the call for a special audio stream of Wednesday's game on SimpsonAthletics.com. Pre-game begins at 5:45 p.m. Andrew Swadner and Rick Wilson will have the call for Saturday's game in Storm Lake on KNIA 1320 AM/95.3 FM and online at KNIAKRLS.com.

THIS WEEK
Game #17: at Central (7-9, 2-5)
Wednesday, Jan. 17 — 6 p.m.
P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium — Pella, Iowa
Live Audio | Live Video | Live Stats

Game #18: at Buena Vista (8-7, 3-3)
Saturday, Jan 20 — 5 p.m.
Siebens Fieldhouse — Storm Lake, Iowa
Live Video | Live Stats

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1 — Simpson suffered its first losses of the new year last week, losing to Coe 71-56 on Wednesday and falling to undefeated Wartburg 81-66 on Saturday, marking the first games losing more than ten points of the season. Senior Noreen Morrow had a career night on Wednesday with 26 points and nine rebounds. Victoria Hazard led the Storm on Saturday with 17 points, five rebounds, three rebounds, two steals and one block against the Knights.

2 — Despite shooting below 50 percent from the field in both games last week, Simpson remains among the elite in the country in field goal percentage. The Storm's 45.4 shooting percentage currently ranks 10th in Division III while Noreen Morrow is seventh individually with a 61.7 field goal percentage.

3 — Home court advantage has been a real concept for the Storm this season. Simpson is 6-2 at Cowles Fieldhouse but just 4-4 away from the friendly confines. The difference has been on the defensive end of the court. The Storm allow just 59.9 ppg while opponents shoot just 34.9 percent at home, but those figures increase to 69.8 ppg and 39.7 percent away from Indianola. Simpson also forces 3.4 fewer turnovers on the road than at home.

4 — Noreen Morrow is closing in on the small gap standing between her and 1,000 career points. Morrow tallied 39 points in last week's contests, highlighted by a career-high 26 against Coe. The 6-2 post already has 530 career rebounds and needs just 18 points to become the seventh player in school history to join the 1,000-point, 500-rebound club.

5 — Victoria Hazard is on the rise and is posting significant stats for the Storm. In the last four games, Hazard is averaging 13.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.3 apg and 2.5 spg while shooting 51.4 percent from the field. Those number are up significantly from her 8.6 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.9 apg, 2.0 spg and 46.1 percent shooting in the first 12 games.

SERIES NOTES
Central — Simpson and Central meet for the 88th time in a series that dates back to the 1975-76 season … Simpson leads the all-time series 57-30 … the Storm have won 32 straight games against the Dutch, a streak that began in the 2002-03 season ... Simpson triumphed over Central both contests last season, winning 73-65 on Jan. 18 in Indianola and 77-68 in Pella on Feb.11 … the Storm are 26-14 against the Dutch in P.H. Kyuper Gymnasium.

Buena Vista — Simpson and Buena Vista meet for the 82nd time in a series that dates back to the 1976-77 season … Simpson leads the all-time series 50-31 and is 5-4 the past nine contests, going 1-4 in Storm Lake … the Storm beat Buena Vista 57-48 in the conference opener this season back on Nov. 29 … the Storm are 17-19 against the Beavers in Siebens Fieldhouse and haven't won there in three years.

SCOUTING OUT THE OPPONENTS
Central — Led by first-year head coach Joe Steinkamp, the Dutch enter Wednesday's game looking to get their third conference win this season. The Dutch (7-9, 2-5) fell to the Duhawks 70-59 on Monday, Jan. 15, placing them eighth in conference play. Three players reached double digits in scoring - Jackie Kriegal (12), Emily Dine (11) and Jessica Helton (11) - during the night. Kriegal also collected 11 rebounds, making it her fifth double-double of the season. She is also first in the conference with 11.4 rpg. The Dutch have two players averaging over 10 ppg (Dine, 15.8 5th in conference and Helton, 11.2). Central is in check beyond the arc scoring 9.9 3-pointers per game with a .351 percentage.

Buena Vista — Led by 26th-year head coach Janet Berry, the Beavers (8-8, 3-4) enter Wednesday's game against Luther looking to even their conference record and end a three-game losing streak. Last time out, No. 2 Wartburg defeated Buena Vista 98-62 in Waverly on Monday, Jan. 15, dropping them to fifth place in the conference. Jasmine Demers had 18 points and five rebounds and Morgan Muhlbauer 15 points and four rebounds in the loss. Two-time IIAC player of the week Claudia Larsen racked up 12 rebounds and five points against the Knights. The trio and Holly Schneider score over 10 points per game (Demers, 16.7; Muhlbauer, 15.6; Larsen, 13.6; Schneider, 11.8) putting 303 out of 352 points on the board the last five games. The Beavers are ranked 28th in the nation in field goal percentage (43.5).