Comeback falls short as Storm fall at Coe

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- The Simpson women's basketball team nearly pulled off a 24-point comeback on Wednesday at Coe, but fell 71-61 in the American Rivers Conference showdown to the top-scoring defense in the league.

The Storm (4-2, 1-1 A-R-C) were down by 24 just under the five-minute mark in the third quarter and went on a 38-21 run to come within six points of the Kohawks (5-2, 1-0 A-R-C) at 62-56 with less than a minute to go in the contest. Simpson was unable to get over the hump and evened its conference record for the year.

Both teams started the game slow as they combined to shoot 5-for-31 in the opening quarter as Coe held a slim 7-5 lead after the first 10 minutes of play. In the second stanza, the Kohawks flipped the switch and shot 69.2% for 27 points, while the Storm's shooting woes continued. Coe took a 34-18 lead into halftime after Simpson scored just 13 points on 5 of 13 shooting.

The intermission seemed to help the Storm as they made 42.9% of their shot attempts in the third quarter and shot a blistering 70.6% in the final frame and held Coe to just 27.3% from the floor. Claire Johnson scored nine of her 14 points in the fourth to help the Simpson offense fight back.

Johnson paced the team with her 14 points and seven assists, and Cassie Chubb had 10 points and seven rebounds to lead Simpson on the glass. The Storm ended the game by shooting 43.1% from the floor, but only 17.4% from behind the arc.

Up Next
A-R-C play continues on Saturday when Loras visits Cowles Fieldhouse for a 2 p.m. showdown.