Taylor scores 33, Storm beat Central 89-74

PELLA, Iowa — Jenna Taylor scored a career-high 33 points and the Simpson women's basketball team came back after a slow start to beat Central going away, 89-74 on Wednesday.

Noreen Morrow added 14 points, Claire Johnson had 10 and six assists and the Storm (11-6, 5-3 Iowa Conference) erased an early 11-point deficit with a 12-0 run late in the first quarter to win their 33rd straight in the series.

Taylor went 12-for-16 from the field, 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and 8-for-9 in the second half. Her 33 points are the most by a Simpson player since the 2012-13 season when IIAC MVP Kate Nielsen put up 35 against Amherst.

Simpson trailed 15-4 when Hazard scored five straight points, getting an and-one in the process. Janey Botkins made a layup, Ellen Gallagher hit a 3 and Cameron Kincaid made a jumper to pull within one. Gallagher converted an and-one as time expired in the first quarter for a 21-20 lead and the Storm led the rest of the way.

Jackie Kriegel had 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Dutch (7-10, 2-6). After shooting better than 56 percent from the field in the first quarter, Central managed just 39 percent the rest of the way.

Simpson led 31-30 in the second quarter before closing the half on a 15-4 run. Taylor hit back-to-back 3s and finished with 13 points during the spurt as Simpson took a 46-34 lead at halftime.

Morrow's 14 points leave her just four points shy of 1,000 for her career.

Key Players
Jenna Taylor — 33 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals
Noreen Morrow — 14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists
Claire Johnson — 10 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals
Victoria Hazard — 8 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals
Ellen Gallagher — 8 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals

Up Next
Saturday, Jan. 20 at Buena Vista