Taylor reaches milestone in key A-R-C victory

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Senior Jenna Taylor hit the 1,000-career point milestone on Saturday as the Simpson College women's basketball team erased an early eight-point deficit to win 78-68 over Coe in American Rivers Conference action.

The Creston, Iowa native became the 17th member of the 1,000-point club with a made 3-pointer with 4:52 left in the second quarter.

Congrats to @SCStorm_WBB's Jenna Taylor on becoming the 17th member of the 1,000-point club with her 12th point during the first half!#ONESimpson | #rollriversWBB pic.twitter.com/isVjKlW3ET

— Simpson Women's Basketball (@SCStorm_WBB) January 30, 2021

The Storm (3-0, 2-0 A-R-C) struggled in the first quarter as the Kohawks (1-3, 0-2 A-R-C) secured an early 7-2 advantage. A triple by sophomore Kia Rasmussen knotted the game at 16-16 with 2:16 left before the visitors surged for an 8-0 run to close out the frame. Simpson shot just 35% from the floor and 25% from deep.

Coming out of the break, sophomore Cassie Nash scored the team's first eight points before Rasmussen knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game at 30-30. The league foes each traded a pair of buckets to keep it knotted at 35-all. Senior Cameron Kincaid connected on a triple in the final seconds of the half to bring Simpson within one at 42-41.

The Storm made adjustments at halftime to outscore Coe, 20-9, in the frame to garner a 61-51 lead. Senior Raegan Boothe scored seven points by going 3-for-4 from the floor to lead the team during the third.

After two quick free throws from Rasmussen to stretch the lead to 12, the Kohawks erased the deficit with a 12-0 run over the next six minutes. The scoring spree was powered by back-to-back 3-pointers from Coe's Jamie Feldt and Madeline Wilkins.

Nash put a stop to the momentum with a basket and Taylor finished with a pair of free throws to widen the cushion to four. With under a minute left, junior Hattie Rhodes hit her first triple of the season to grab an eight-point advantage at 74-66. The Storm made their final four shots at the charity stripe to clinch the victory.

Simpson shot just 38.2% from the floor, while Coe connected on 41.7% of its attempts. Nash paced the offense with 18 points, while Rasmussen poured in a season-high 17 and Taylor ended with 16.

Up Next
The Storm are back on the road with a midweek game at Central on Wednesday. Competition will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a JV game to follow.