Simpson falls in IIAC title game

 Highlights

INDIANOLA, Iowa – Megan Hayes scored 21 points as Coe beat the Simpson women's basketball team 79-59 in the Iowa Conference Tournament Championship game on Saturday afternoon at Cowles Fieldhouse.

Meeting in the tournament final for the third time in as many years, it was Coe which secured the league's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III Tournament for the second year in a row.

Ranked No. 3 in the most recent West Region rankings, Simpson now needs an at-large bid to qualify for its eighth straight NCAA Tournament.

Hayes added 10 rebounds as the second-seeded Coe held top-seeded Simpson to 28 percent shooting for the game, its second-lowest output of the season.

Kayla Waskow had a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double and Leslie Ware finished with 15 points for the Kohawks (20-7).

Kate Nielsen scored 20 points and Stacey Schutjer 17 for the Storm (21-6), who saw their 14-game home winning streak come to a close.

Facing double and triple-teams most of the day, Nielsen and Schutjer got few clean looks at the hoop as Simpson struggled to find consistency on offense, going 19 of 67 on the game.

Waskow's 13 rebounds headed a big effort on the glass for Coe, which out-rebounded Simpson 53-39. Coe's 17 offense rebounds led to 20 second-chance points.

Less than five minutes into the game Coe mounted a 13-0 run and built its lead to 17 before Simpson closed on a 13-6 run to make the score 36-26 at halftime.

Despite having the momentum at halftime, Simpson was unable to build on it as Coe opened the second half with a 10-2 run and built the lead to 58-34 by outscoring Simpson 22-8 in the first nine minutes.

Tune in to NCAA.com for the NCAA Division III Championship selection show beginning at 1:30 p.m. Monday.