Storm defeat nationally-ranked Wartburg

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- The Simpson women's basketball team knocked off No. 8/7 Wartburg, 66-62, on Wednesday to snap a nine-game losing skid to the Knights and increased the team's winning streak to 10 in doing so.

The Storm (14-3, 6-2 A-R-C) last beat Wartburg on Jan. 17, 2015 by a score of 77-70 in Waverly, Iowa before the torrid stretch began. There is now a three-way tie for second in the American Rivers Conference with Simpson, the Knights (14-3, 6-2 A-R-C) and Luther all vying for a conference title.

With the game stalled at 9-7 in the first in favor of the Storm, a bucket by Jenna Taylor sent the offense on a 13-0 run to go ahead 22-7 after four different players scored. The 15-point advantage would be Simpson's biggest of the day. Wartburg ended the quarter on a 6-0 spurt to put the game at 22-13.

The league foes traded blows through the first six minutes of the second stanza. The Knights would cut the deficit to single digits, which allowed the Storm to respond with a bucket to widen the buffer past 10. This habit stood until the last couple minutes before halftime as the visitors ended on a 5-0 run to put the game at 32-28 with the hosts ahead.

Kia Rasmussen started the third quarter with a bang with her second triple of the game that started a quick 7-0 run out of the gate. Wartburg kept things interesting by going on another run to answer the Storm, this time on a 6-0 spurt to but the game at 39-34. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Cassie Chubb ended the threat and increased the barrier to 13 after Taylor added to the run.

Over the first 5:35 of the fourth frame, the Knights fought back with a 10-0 scoring spree to bring the game to two at 52-50 still in favor of the Storm. Chubb stopped the momentum with another triple, but the nationally-ranked opponent answered with one of their own and then another basket to knot the contest at 55-55.

Wartburg found its first lead since the first quarter at 59-58, but it didn't last long as Taylor notched a triple. The Knights tied it up once again at 61, but Cameron Kincaid scored her ninth point of the game to give Simpson the last lead it needed at 63-62 to seal the upset.

Chubb led the team with 17 points on five 3-pointers, Rasmussen added 11 and Taylor poured in 11 off the bench.

Up Next
The Storm look to keep the momentum going with a 2 p.m. contest on the road on Saturday at Dubuque.