Storm fall to Buena Vista, finish fourth in the IIAC

STORM LAKE, Iowa - Lexi Fisher scored 20 points and made six 3-pointers as Buena Vista beat the Simpson women's basketball team 89-71 in the regular season finale on Saturday.

The loss, coupled with wins by Coe and Dubuque, results in a fourth-place finish in the league standings for Simpson. The Storm will host fifth-seeded Wartburg at Cowles Fieldhouse on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. The winner plays at Loras on Thursday.

Brittany Hedrick scored 15 points and Maddie Muhlenbruck came off the bench to score 12 for the Storm (14-11, 9-5 Iowa Conference), who closed the season on a three-game losing streak.

Jasmyn Flynn-Graves scored 19 points off the bench and Shelby Wiederhoeft had 11 points and 11 rebounds as the Beavers (11-14, 5-9) clinched the sixth and final spot in the conference tournament.

Simpson led 28-27 with 2:51 left in the first half before Buena Vista closed on a 14-3 run. Up 41-31, the Beavers opened the game up by scoring the first 11 points in the second half. Fisher made her sixth 3 of the game with 18:04 left in the second half as Buena Vista built a 52-31 lead.

Simpson led by as many as eight in the first half, going ahead 23-15 on a Katie Ahrenholtz jumper at the 7:14 mark. Buena Vista took the lead for good when a layup by Flynn-Graves made it 29-28 with 2:41 left in the first.

The Simpson defense forced 24 Buena Vista turnovers, but couldn't keep up on the glass. The Storm were outrebounded 50-23.

The Knights (11-14, 5-9) beat Central 54-51 on Saturday. Simpson won both regular season meetings with Wartburg, winning 74-64 on Jan. 25 in Indianolal and 75-67 on Feb. 12 in Waverly.