Late rally lifts No. 14 Simpson over Luther

DECORAH, Iowa -- No. 14 Simpson College showcased its strong defense late in the game to hold Luther to just six points in the final frame to clinch a 75-60 victory on Monday.

For the third-straight game, the Storm (7-0, 6-0 A-R-C) were down at the end of the first quarter. The Norse (0-7, 0-6 A-R-C) ended the period with a 19-16 advantage after shooting 41.2% from the floor. Sophomore Cassie Nash helped the team knot the game at halftime by dishing out four assists in the second period to put the contest at 32-32.

Luther came out of intermission and shot 60.0% with three triples while holding Simpson to a 36.4% shooting clip and only one make from deep. The Norse offense reeled of a 9-2 spurt to close the quarter to regain the lead.

The Norse held a three-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Storm went on a 10-2 run to start the frame. Freshman Regan Freland tallied five points during the scoring spree.

Simpson captured a small lead with four minutes left in the game before junior Kia Rasmussen and senior Jenna Taylor went back-to-back-to-back from the 3-point line to put the team up by 14. Senior Raegan Boothe forced a turnover on the ensuing possession that led to a basket by junior Chloe Van Vliet for the team's largest tilt of the game at 16.

The Storm's defense held Luther to only two points in the final four minutes of game play and six points total in the fourth quarter, despite leading Simpson at the end of the first and third periods.

Simpson held the turnover edge by forcing Luther to commit 22 errors which led to 29 points. The Norse had a 46-31 rebounding edge in the contest, but the Storm connected on 11 3-pointers, compared to Luther's six.

Hours after being named the American Rivers Conference Player of the Week, Taylor had a game-high 18 points to help the Storm stay in the hunt for a conference title. Senior Cameron Kincaid had 16 points, Rasmussen had 13 and Nash contributed 11 points.

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