Taylor scores 27, Storm hold off Waldorf 83-71

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Jenna Taylor scored 27 points, Madie Bacon scored 12 off the bench and the Simpson women's basketball team outlasted a pesky Waldorf team in an 83-71 win on Saturday.

Rachel Freland made the go-ahead 3 as part of the deciding run in the third quarter that put the Storm (6-1) ahead for good.

Waldorf came back from deficits of 14 and 12 points, but ultimately Simpson's defense -- which forced 27 turnovers -- helped the Storm improve to 3-0 at Cowles Fieldhouse.

Morgan Straight scored 15 points and went 4-for-9 from 3-point range to lead the Warriors (3-5), whose coach faced her former team for the first time. Katie Schutjer (formerly Katie Kitzman) played for Simpson from 2008-10, leading Brian Niemuth's Storm to a pair of Iowa Conference titles and two trips to the NCAA Tournament.

For a while, it looked like the homecoming would be a happy one for Schutjer.

Trailing by as many as 14 in the first half, Waldorf mounted a 17-2 run that started in the second quarter and finished when Kayley Cravens nailed a 3 with 8:08 left in the third for a 38-36 lead. Straight's 3 with 6:41 left in the third put Waldorf ahead 41-38.

Then Simpson's hounding defense took its toll.

The full-court pressure created five turnovers over the next six possessions -- including a 10-second violation -- as the Storm responded with a 14-0 run. Freland nailed the go-ahead 3, Taylor added a trey and Bacon's layup with 3:44 left made it 52-41.

Waldorf pulled within two early in the fourth quarter, but Taylor responded with a 3. A Taylor Fricke layup made it a three-point game, but Kia Rasmussen hit a 3 to push the lead to six. Simpson kept Waldorf at arm's length the rest of the way.

Cameron Kincaid had 10 points and Claire Johnson filled the stat sheet with nine points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals for the Storm.

UP NEXT

Simpson travels to Concordia-Moorhead on Saturday, Dec. 15. Start time is set for 3 p.m. in Moorhead, Minn.