Simpson women lose thriller to No. 18 Loras

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- In a game that saw the Simpson women's basketball team hold the lead for 26 minutes, the Storm came up short to miss out on the upset against No. 18 Loras on Saturday in an 85-80 contest.

The Storm (4-3, 1-2 A-R-C) had four of their five starters notch double figures in scoring as Cassie Chubb paced the team with 22 points. Cameron Kincaid ended with 15 points and seven rebounds, Kia Rasmussen added 12 points and Claire Johnson had 11.

The Duhawks (7-1, 2-1 A-R-C) powered their way to a 10-5 advantage in the first quarter before Simpson reeled off six straight points to go ahead at 11-10. With the game sitting at 19-18 in favor the Storm, the offense ended the stanza on a 6-1 run.

Cassie Nash hit her only 3-pointer of the game in the second period to put Simpson ahead by nine at 28-19. On the next scoring possession for the Storm, Johnson weaved through traffic in the paint to find an open Allyson Simpson in the corner, who finished off the nice pass with a triple to give the Storm a 31-21 tilt at 5:59. Chubb would follow with a basket to give the team its largest lead of the day at 33-21.

As Loras was down by 12, the visitors chipped away at the deficit for the next five minutes of the quarter to come within one at 35-34 after riding at 13-2 run. The Storm would close the half ahead at 38-36.

Simpson would hold a slim 58-56 tilt going into the fourth quarter, but the Duhawks grabbed the lead less than 45 seconds into the period. Chubb would help Simpson tie it at 66-66 with another triple. Rasmussen led a 9-4 swing with five points to extend the Storm's lead to five at 75-70 with two minutes to go. Loras would grab a 78-76 advantage off a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left and held on to win.

Both teams shot nearly identical during the showdown, as the Storm held the slight edge at 48.4%, compared to the Duhawks' 48.3% effort. 

Up Next
Simpson travels to Waldorf on Saturday, Dec. 14 for a 2 p.m. nonconference clash.