Rare off night hurts Storm in loss to Marietta

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Corrie Burkhardt scored 21 points and Marietta took advantage of a rare off night to beat the Simpson women's basketball team 71-60 at the Cruzin Classic on Thursday.

Jenna Taylor scored 15 points and Janey Botkins had 10 for the Storm (7-2), who had their winning streak snapped at four games. Simpson shot a season-low 30.9 percent from the field.

A 15-0 run by the Pioneers (6-3) proved to be the difference.

Simpson tied the game 24-24 on Claire Johnson's jumper midway through the second quarter. Jo Herd-Middlebrooks responded with a layup to begin the spurt, which closed with back-to-back buckets by Burkhardt. 

The lead grew to 45-26 on Burkhardt's layup with 4:27 left in the third. Botkins made a trey on the ensuing possession, halting a nearly 12-minute drought from the field. 

Simpson trimmed the lead to 10 in the fourth quarter but couldn't get any closer.

Botkins went 3-for-7 from 3-point range and Cameron Kincaid finished with eight points, all from the free throw line. She went 8-for-10. 

UP NEXT

Simpson concludes its trip to Florida against Curry on Friday, Dec. 21. Start time is set for 4 p.m. ET in Fort Lauderdale.