Swarming defense helps Storm hold off Platteville

INDIANOLA, Iowa - Mackenzie Haupt scored 22 points, Noreen Morrow gave the Simpson women's basketball team a seven-point lead with a 3-point play in the fourth quarter and the Storm held off a pesky Wis.-Platteville team 79-67 on Saturday.

Morrow made layups on back-to-back possessions in the fourth quarter, the second of which she converted for a 3-point play, as Simpson opened up a 67-60 lead with 6:03 left. Haupt added a mid-range jumper to extend the lead to nine.

Maddie Bosworth scored 16 points and Katie Ahrenholtz had 13 off the bench as the Storm (5-4) won for the fourth time in five games. Haupt and Whitney Van Wyk had four steals apiece to lead Simpson's relentless defensive pressure, which turned 26 turnovers into 36 points.

Morgan Horstman had 15 points and seven rebounds and Elisa Bilderback had 13 points for the Pioneers (2-7), who led by eight after the first quarter.

Simpson opened the second quarter with a 23-9 scoring run, turning the deficit into a six-point lead. Morgan Mauro hit a deep 3 from the top of the key to make it 34-28 with 4:25 to play in the half.

Neither team led by more than four points until an Ahrenholtz hook shot in the middle of the lane made it 59-53 with 49 seconds left in the third.

Up next: Simpson will go abroad over the holiday break, traveling to Puerto Rico on Dec. 28-29 to play Coast Guard and Lebanon Valley.