WBB Preview: Storm welcome Loras to Cowles Fieldhouse

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- For the last time in 2019, the Simpson women's basketball team will play inside Cowles Fieldhouse as No. 18 Loras visits for a 2 p.m. contest on Saturday. Both teams are eyeing their second American Rivers Conference triumph for the season.

The Storm (4-2, 1-1 A-R-C) fell 71-61 at Coe and the Duhawks (6-1, 1-1 A-R-C) suffered their first defeat of the year in a 80-77 decision at Luther, both contests were held on Wednesday.

The game will be video streamed live on SimpsonAthletics.com as Todd Guessford has the call as pregame begins at 1:45 p.m. Fans can also access the video stream via the American Rivers application on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.

GAME 7
Loras (6-1, 1-1 A-R-C) at Simpson (4-2, 1-1 A-R-C)
Saturday, Dec. 7 | 2 p.m.
Cowles Fieldhouse | Indianola, Iowa
Live Video | Live Stats | Live Audio

LISTEN TO THE STORM
The team of Andrew Swadner and Rick Wilson will have the call on 94.3 FM and 1320 AM or online at kniakrls.com. Fans can also download the KNIA app, available on iTunes and Google Play. Pregame coverage begins at 1:35 p.m.

LORAS SERIES NOTES
The Storm and Duhawks meet for the 74th time in a series that dates back to the 1986-87 season ... Simpson owns a 46-27 mark against Loras, but have lost three in a row and the last 10 of 12 since 2013-14 ... the Duhawks have won the last three meetings by an average of 13.6 points and have scored over 85 points in two of those contests ... the Storm have had more success inside Cowles Fieldhouse than in Dubuque, Iowa with a 26-9 record at home.

RECENT RESULTS
Feb. 2, 2019 — L, 94-79 (Dubuque)
Jan. 2, 2019 — L, 76-67 (Indianola)
Feb. 14, 2018 — L, 86-69 (Dubuque)
Jan. 6, 2018 — W, 80-72 (Indianola)
Jan. 25, 2017 — L, 80-63 (Indianola)

ABOUT THE DUHAWKS
Loras comes into the contest with a 6-1 record and ranked No. 18 in the D3hoops.com Top-25 Poll ... the 6-1 mark is highlighted by two ranked wins at the Loras Tip-Off Classic ... the Duhawks defeated No. 17 Wisconsin-Oshkosh and No. 24 Washington University in St. Louis ... in the team's last outing, Loras fell 80-77 at Luther to even its conference record at 1-1 and also stopped a six game-winning streak to begin the year ... the Duhawks are leading the league in scoring at 87.3 ppg ... Macenzie Kraemer is second among conference scorers at 17.1 ppg, while Marissa Schroeder is second on the other end of the court with 7.3 rebounds per outing.

LAST TIME OUT
Simpson had its hands full on Wednesday when the team visited Coe for an A-R-C battle ... the Storm lost 71-61, despite coming back to within six points near the end of the game after going in a 24-point hole at the halfway point of the third stanza ... Claire Johnson ended with 14 points and seven assists to come close to her first double-double of the season.

STORM NOTES
• The Storm are currently first in the league in shooting percentage (50.0), 3-point percentage (41.4), assists per game (18.0), assist to turnover ratio (1.07), second in scoring (82.3 ppg) and fourth in steals per game (12.5).
• The offense is shooting 50% from the floor to lead the nation and the 41.4% mark from behind the arc is third among NCAA Division III programs.
• For just the second time this season, Simpson has made fewer than 10 3-pointers in a contest. The Storm connected on just four makes against Coe on 23 attempts.
• Claire Johnson is currently first in the A-R-C in assists per game (6.2) and assists to turnover ratio (3.4), which are both in the top 10 in the nation.
• All five starters are averaging double figures in scoring with Cassie Chubb at the top with 12.8 ppg. Johnson is second with 11.7, followed by Cassie Nash (11.5), Kia Rasmussen (11.2) and Cameron Kincaid (10.3).
• Head coach Brian Niemuth is three wins shy of hitting the 600 mark for career victories. Niemuth is currently ninth in career victories for active NCAA Division III women's basketball coaches.

UP NEXT
Simpson takes a little break from competition and returns to the gym on Saturday, Dec. 14 for a road contest at Waldorf. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.