Hot start propels Storm over Grand View

INDIANOLA, Iowa - Jamie Elbert led a potent 3-point shooting attack and Simpson built a 27-point, halftime lead en-route to an 83-69 win against Grand View in the final game of the Simpson Storm Classic on Saturday afternoon.

Elbert (Indianola, Iowa) scored a team-high 19 points and went 5-for-7 from beyond the arc for the Storm (4-1), who made 13 treys as a team. Stacey Schutjer (Titonka, Iowa) added 13 points and five rebounds and earned Tournament MVP honors while Elbert joined her as an all-tournament team member. Ali Sokol (Urbandale, Iowa) chipped in with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Arguably Simpson's toughest test of the season to this point, Grand View came into the game ranked No. 20 nationally in NAIA Division II. 

"Today we learned that when we play well, we can play with anyone on our schedule," head coach Brian Niemuth said. "I feel like we're a talented team but sometimes we lose our focus a little bit."

There was no questioning Simpson's focus in the first half. Down 11-7 early, a 3-pointer by Schutjer sparked a 14-0 run. Simpson went on to outscore Grand View 45-14 in the last 15 minutes of the first half, taking a 52-25 lead into halftime.

"We played as well as we've played in years [in the first half]," Niemuth said "We wanted to increase our defensive intentisty and run more on offense, which we did both of. We also shared the ball really well in the first half."

Jennifer Jorgensen turned in a 27-point, 16-rebound double-double for the Vikings (7-2), who refused to go away quietly.

Grand View scored the first 13 points of the second half and cut Simpson's lead to 12 on a Jorgensen layup with 9:27 left in the game.

"We played to the score [early in the second half] and forgot to take care of the little details such as blocking out and rebounding," Niemuth said. "But we righted the ship over the last 10 minutes."

After Jorgensen's layup trimmed the lead, Simpson responded with a 7-0 run of its own, capped off by a Nicole Crisp (Sliprock, N.M.) 3 that gave the Storm a 68-49 lead with less than seven minutes left.

The Storm begin Iowa Conference play Wednesday, Nov. 30 when they host Cornell at Cowles Fieldhouse. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.