Cold shooting dooms Storm women against Luther

INDIANOLA, Iowa - Tayler Jenks had 20 points and Luther pulled away from the Simpson women's basketball team in the second half, beating the Storm 70-52 on Saturday.

Katie Waller finished with 14 points and six rebounds for the Norse (13-4, 5-1 Iowa Conference), who responded after suffering their first conference loss Wednesday against Loras.

Noreen Morrow had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Storm (10-7, 3-3), who struggled against Luther's pressure defense. Simpson shot a season-low 31.5 percent from the field, including 7-for-27 in the second half.

The Storm trailed by 13 in the third quarter before getting two 3-pointers from Morgan Mauro to pull within five, 48-43 wth 1:44 left. Luther responded with a 12-0 run that extended into the fourth quarter, putting the game out of reach.

Luther forced 17 turnovers which turned into 24 points. The Norse also controlled the glass, outrebounding Simpson 48-33.

Simpson led for most of the first quarter, but Luther took the lead for good on a Jenks jumper that made it 16-15 early in the second.

Notes: With her three 3-pointers Saturday, Mauro moved into a tie for third on Simpson's career list. Her 153 3s are tied with Tiffany Whitsell (1999-2003).

Up next: Simpson goes to Central on Wednesday, Jan. 27 to complete the first trip through the Iowa Conference schedule. The Dutch (4-13, 1-5) lost to Buena Vista 99-45 on Saturday.