Storm women hand Wartburg second loss

INDIANOLA - Stacey Schutjer posted her second double-double in three games and Simpson overcame a 10-point, first half deficit in a 65-55 win over Wartburg on Wednesday night.

Trailing by eight at halftime, the Storm (14-3, 8-0 IIAC) outscored Wartburg 38-21 in the second half en-route to their 13th-consecutive win.

Schutjer scored 14 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, with 10 points and eight boards coming in the second half. She added four blocked shots, posting similar numbers to her outing against Luther. In that game, she went for 13 points and 14 rebounds, blocking five shots.

"She has matured a lot as a player," head coach Brian Niemuth said of his center. "She understands how to keep her composure now. She's starting to figure it out."

Niemuth picked up his 449th career win Wednesday night, but saw his team struggle with Wartburg's pressure in the first half. Simpson committed 15 turnovers in the opening frame.

"They took it to us in the first half," Niemuth said. "We had a lot of unforced errors and I think we were a little nervous, but we settled down in the second half."

The Knights (15-2, 6-2 IIAC) entered the game with only one loss and dictated the tempo early. Katie Zittergruen scored 10 points in the first half, finishing with a team-high 14. A 3-pointer from Maddie Sadecky gave Wartburg a 34-24 lead with just over a minute left.

But a Schutjer jumper narrowed the lead to eight at the break and a layup by Mindy Hutchcroft sparked a 14-6 Simpson run to open the second half. Four consecutive free throws by Kate Nielsen tied the score at 40 with 14:07 left.

Wartburg responded and took a seven point lead before back-to-back fastbreak layups by Jamie Elbert tied the game at the 8:55 mark. Her ensuing free throw completed a three-point play and gave Simpson its first lead since two minutes into the game.

After a Carly Jacobs 3-pointer gave the Knights a two-point edge, Schutjer tied it with a trip to the free throw line. The Storm took the lead for good when Kelsie Reeves picked Abbey Hempen's pocket and took it coast-to-coast, making the score 56-54 with 7:26 left.

Over the final eight minutes, Simpson outscored Wartburg 12-1.

"I feel that we always have an advantage with our depth," Niemuth said of his bench, which accounted for 39 points. "A big part of the reason we became the aggressor in the second half was our bench play."

Cathy Kain had nine points and five rebounds off the bench. Kate Nielsen scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds.

Niemuth goes for career win No. 450 Saturday when the Storm host Luther at Cowles Fieldhouse. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. Live stats and live video can be viewed at: http://livestats.prestosports.com/simpson/.