Big games from Botkins, Freland not enough against Loras

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- The Simpson women's basketball team got big games from Janey Botkins and Rachel Freland, but a late run helped Loras to a 76-67 win Wednesday night.

Botkins tied a career-high with 21 points and Freland set a career-high with 18 for the Storm (10-3, 2-2 American Rivers). Botkins went 5-for-6 from 3-point range and Freland went 4-for-5 from downtown, helping build an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter.

Macenzie Kraemer scored 17 points and Kari Fitzpatrick had 13 and 10 rebounds for the Duhawks (10-3, 3-1), who won their sixth in a row.

The Storm took a 59-51 lead with 8:14 left in the fourth quarter when Freland made her fourth-straight 3-pointer. The triple capped off a 20-10 run, giving Simpson its largest lead after trailing by as many as nine early in the game.

Then Loras captured the momentum.

The Duhawks responded to Freland's 3 with an 18-1 run and Simpson went without a field goal for more than 7 minutes. A Fitzpatrick free throw with 47 seconds left made it 69-60 and Loras made five free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Jenna Taylor had 11 points and 11 rebounds and Claire Johnson finished with 10 points and four assists for the Storm.

GAME NOTES

Simpson made a season-low three free throws, going 3-for-5 from the free throw line compared to 18-for-23 for Loras … Jenna Taylor posted her fifth double-double of the season … she has reached double-figure scoring in 16 straight games dating back to last season … Simpson went 10-for-22 from 3-point range, the team's third-straight game with at least 10 treys … the Storm suffered their first loss of the season when making 10-or-more 3s and are now 3-1.

UP NEXT

Simpson travels to play Dubuque on Saturday, Jan. 5. Start time is set for 2 p.m.