Big third quarter lifts No. 7 Storm over Luther

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- It was a tale of two halves for the No. 7 Simpson College women's basketball team on Tuesday in the quarterfinal round of the American Rivers Conference Tournament against Luther.

The top-seeded Storm (10-0) scored 43 points in the third quarter to lift the team to a 94-58 victory over the ninth-seeded Norse (1-10) after holding a deficit at the end of the first stanza.

Luther gained a 20-15 advantage after the end of the first quarter by shooting 40%, while Simpson made just 37.5% of its attempts and missed all five shots from deep.

The second quarter was nearly a repeat of the Storm's poor shooting in the first as the Norse collected an eight-point lead with 4:40 left. A 7-0 scoring run brought Simpson to within one after Cassie Nash scored five points to help swing the momentum. Kia Rasmussen closed the half with a 5-0 spurt of her own to give the squad a 33-32 tilt.

Head coach Brian Niemuth's halftime pep talk proved to be effective as the offense erupted for a 26-7 run through the opening 5:15 of play. Later in the period, Cameron Kincaid and Jenna Taylor combined for a 16-2 spurt to widen the gap to 76-46 to end the quarter. Simpson was nearly perfect from the floor by connecting on 70.8% of its attempts and went 3-for-3 from deep. The defense collected seven steals and forced eight turnovers to help score 43 points in the frame.

The Storm were able to grab their biggest lead of the game of 39 points in the fourth with 1:55 left with the help of seven players registering a point in the quarter.

Simpson finished with a 50.7% shooting clip for the game and registered 34 points off turnovers, while scoring 48 points in the paint compared to Luther's 16.

Four players scored in double figures with Taylor leading the way by tying a season-high of 30 points. Rasmussen added 15, and Nash and Kincaid each had 13.

Up Next
The Storm play in the A-R-C Tournament Semifinals on Thursday when they host fourth-seeded Central. The game will begin at 7 p.m. inside Cowles Fieldhouse.