WBB Preview: Storm host A-R-C Tournament Championship on Saturday

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- The No. 7 Simpson College women's basketball team is back in the American Rivers Conference Tournament Championship for the first time since 2013 when it hosts second-seeded Coe on Saturday at 6 p.m.

The top-seeded Storm (11-0) cruised to a 75-61 victory over fourth-seeded Central in the semifinals for their 40th-straight win over the Dutch to reach the tournament final. The Kohawks (9-3) won 78-59 against sixth-seeded Loras to grab a spot in the title bout for the first time since 2014.

Bryan Geelan will be on the call as the game will be streamed live through SimpsonAthletics.com. Pregame will begin at 5:45 p.m.

A-R-C TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 2 Coe (9-3) at No. 1 Simpson (11-0)
Saturday, March 13 | 6 p.m.
Cowles Fieldhouse | Indianola, Iowa
Live Video | Live Stats | Live Audio (KNIA)

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
The A-R-C Tournament Championship is set between top-seeded Simpson and second-seeded Coe ... the Storm handled Central in a 75-61 contest on Thursday and the Kohawks dismantled Loras, 78-59 ... Simpson is making its first appearance in the finals since 2013 and Coe is back after last appearing in 2014 ... the Storm have collected seven tournament titles since 2000 and the Kohawks have earned two.

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

COE SERIES NOTES
The Storm and Kohawks square up for the 65th time with Simpson owning a 48-16 edge ... this is the third meeting between the two squads this season with the Storm winning both matchups ... in the conference tournament, Coe and Simpson last met at the end of the 2019-20 campaign as the Kohawks won 72-69 in overtime to send the Storm home ... the two squads met in the 2012 conference championship with the Kohawks earning a 79-59 victory to upset Simpson ... most recently, Simpson won 78-68 on Jan. 30 in a conference showdown ... three players finished in double figures for the Storm with Kia Rasmussen leading the way with 17 points.

RECENT RESULTS
Jan. 30, 2021 — W, 78-68 (Cedar Rapids)
Jan. 23, 2021 — W, 79-56 (Cedar Rapids)
Feb. 25, 2020 — L,72-69, OT (Cedar Rapids)
Feb. 12, 2020 — L, 84-75 (Indianola)
Dec. 4, 2019 — L, 71-61 (Cedar Rapids)

ABOUT THE KOHAWKS
Coe comes into the championship as the No. 2 seed in this year's tournament ... the Kohawks are on an eight-game winning streak and won their first two tournament games by an average of 20 points ... Coe won 73-52 over Buena Vista in the quarterfinals and cruised past Loras, 78-59, to advance to the title game for the first time since 2014 ... Jackie Feldt is pacing the team and conference with 20.1 points per game and Madeline Wilkins is second on the squad in scoring at 12.2.

LAST TIME OUT
Simpson punched its ticket into the A-R-C Tournament Championship after earning a 75-61 victory over Central last night for its 40th-straight win over the Dutch ... Central grabbed a quick 3-0 lead until Cameron Kincaid scored three points on an "and-one" play to knot the game ... from there, Simpson would lead the rest of the way ... Cassie Nash paced the team with a season-high 20 points and four steals, and Kincaid dropped 17 points, 14 of which occurred in the first half.

STORM NOTES
• Simpson in the national rankings:

3rd — scoring offense (85.2) and 3-pointers made per game (10.5)
5th — free throw percentage (80.8%)
7th — assists per game (19.1)
9th — 3-point percentage (39.3%)
11th — field goal percentage (45.0%)

• Storm in the national rankings:

Cameron Kincaid — 11th in free throw percentage (97.3%)
Jenna Taylor — 12th in points per game (20.7), 14th in 3-point percentage (49.1%) and 23rd in free throw percentage (87.5%)
Kia Rasmussen — 13th in assists per game (5.8) and 26th in steals per game (3.3)
Cassie Nash — 13th in assist to turnover ratio (3.0)