Storm drain 16 triples in 88-48 win over Nebraska Wesleyan

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Senior Jenna Taylor outscored Nebraska Wesleyan by herself in the first half as she tallied 28 of her game-high 30 points in the first 20 minutes to help Simpson College earn an 88-48 victory on Wednesday.

The Storm (2-0, 1-0 A-R-C) tallied their fourth triumph in a row over the Prairie Wolves (0-2, 0-2 A-R-C) while making 16 3-pointers. Head coach Brian Niemuth's offense has now scored at least 80 points in seven-straight meetings with Nebraska Wesleyan while holding the visitors to their second-lowest scoring output in the series since totaling 33 points during the 1988-89 campaign.

Taylor started her night early by draining two triples in the first 90 seconds of play and scored 13 points in the first six minutes to help Simpson grab an early 20-0 advantage. The Prairie Wolves finally scored a basket at 3:47 to halt a scoreless drought through the first quarter this season after being kept off the scoreboard in the season opener's first period against Wartburg.

Taylor's 17 points in the first stanza helped the Storm grab a 30-5 lead on 55.0% shooting. The defense grabbed eight steals and forcee nine turnovers while allowing the visitors to shoot 16.7%.

The offense remained hot after the short break to shoot 50% from the field in the second, while Taylor poured in 11 points. Freshman Sophie Reed went perfect from behind the arc to bury her two attempts to net six points.

After halftime, sophomore Cassie Nash became the scoring threat for the Storm by tallying 10 points in the third. Nash went 4-for-4 from the field to finish in double digits for the fifth-straight outing dating back to her freshman campaign.

In the final frame, senior Essance Porter connected on two 3-pointers to score six points for a new career high. It was also Porter's first career basket from deep. Junior Chloe Van Vliet tallied six points as well.

Of the 19 players that saw action tonight for Simpson, 14 recorded a point and nine made a triple. Freshmen Elizabeth Elfvin, Sam Greving, Maggie Hall and Reed all scored their first career points tonight in the victory.

Junior Hattie Rhodes and Taylor led the rebounding effort with eight each, while Porter grabbed five in six minutes of work in the fourth. Junior Kia Rasmussen dished out seven assists to go along with four steals.

Jasmine Glenn led the scoring efforts for Nebraska Wesleyan with 13 points.

Up Next
Simpson will host Coe for an 11 a.m. contest this Saturday inside Cowles Fieldhouse.