WBB Preview: Storm host Luther in A-R-C Tournament Quarterfinals

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- The Simpson College women's basketball team begins the American Rivers Conference Tournament as the No. 1 seed against Luther on Tuesday in the quarterfinal round. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside Cowles Fieldhouse.

The Storm (9-0, 8-0 A-R-C) last played a week ago by earning an 81-80 double overtime victory over Wartburg to secure the top seed after Regan Freland hit the game-winner. The Norse (1-9, 8-0 A-R-C) tallied their first triumph of the season in the tournament opener last night in an 66-44 win over Nebraska Wesleyan.

Todd Guessford and Ethan Humble will be on the call as the game will be streamed live through SimpsonAthletics.com. Pregame will begin at 6:45 p.m.

GAME 10
Luther (1-9, 0-8 A-R-C) at No. 10 Simpson (9-0, 8-0 A-R-C)
Tuesday, March 9 | 7 p.m.
Cowles Fieldhouse | Indianola, Iowa
Live Video | Live Stats | Audio

SIMPSON ATTENDANCE POLICY
The general public, faculty and staff are still not permitted to watch contests in-person, while student-athletes and coaches from both teams will be permitted two spectators that can attend, in addition to the 25 students. All spectators will be required to wear a mask and maintain a distance of six feet from others.

Click HERE for the full release from Simpson Athletics.

AMERICAN RIVERS CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Simpson grabbed the No. 1 seed in this year's tournament after an unbeaten regular season ... Coe is No. 2, while Wartburg is No. 3 with two conference defeats this year ... Central, Dubuque, Loras, Buena Vista, Nebraska Wesleyan and Luther fill out the rest of the bracket in that respective order ... the Norse and Prairie Wolves opened the tourney with a contest on Sunday, which Luther won 65-44 to advance.

Click HERE for the A-R-C Tournament Homepage.

LUTHER SERIES NOTES
The two teams meet for the 88th time as the Storm have won four of the last five contests and hold a 49-38 lead in the series ... Simpson got back in the win column against Luther after dropping the last contest between the pair in 2019-20 ... the Storm struggled in the opening quarter holding a three-point deficit to the winless Norse ... Simpson was able to tie the game at halftime and outscore Luther 24-6 in the fourth quarter to claim the 75-60 victory on Feb. 22.

RECENT RESULTS
Feb. 22, 2021 — W, 75-60 (Decorah)
Jan. 29, 2020 — L, 73-63 (Indianola)
Jan. 19, 2020 — W, 90-66 (Decorah)
Feb. 4, 2019 — W, 65-55 (Indianola)
Dec. 3, 2018 — W, 81-64 (Decorah)

ABOUT THE NORSE
Luther tallied its first win of the season on Sunday in a 65-44 contest over Nebraska Wesleyan to advance in the American Rivers Conference Tournament ... Kristen Elliott led a trio of double-digit scorers pouring in a game-high 21 points in the victory as she made five shots from deep ... Jordan Rubie is pacing the team with 12.5 points per game and Elliott is second with an 11.6 average.

LAST TIME OUT
Simpson tallied an 81-80 double overtime victory over No. 4 Wartburg last Monday to secure the No. 1 seed in this year's conference tournament ... Regan Freland connected on the game-winning 3-pointer with seconds left to carry the Storm ... earlier in the game, Cameron Kincaid was the hero by knocking down a pair of free throws with no time left on the clock to knot the game at 65-65 at the end of regulation ... the offense had five scorers reach double digits to help the squad earn their second win in three tries over Wartburg ... Kincaid paced the team with 21 points and Freland ended with 17 off the bench for a career high.

STORM NOTES
• Simpson in the national rankings:

4th — 3-pointers made per game (10.9)
6th — scoring offense (84.2)
8th — assists per game (19.0)
9th — free throw percentage (80.8%)
10th — 3-point percentage (39.2%)
18th — field goal percentage (44.4%)

• Storm in the national rankings:

Cameron Kincaid — 10th in free throw percentage (96.9%%)
Jenna Taylor — 18th in 3-point percentage (52.1%), 19th in free throw percentage (88.9%) and 23rd in points per game (19.7)
Kia Rasmussen — 19th in assists per game (6.0) and 29th in steals per game (3.44)

UP NEXT
The winner of this game will advance to the semifinals to take on the winner between No. 5 Dubuque and No. 4 Central. The contest will take place at the higher seed's venue.