No. 12 Loras holds off Storm’s upset bid

DUBUQUE, Iowa -- In a game that went down to the wire, the Simpson women's basketball team came short of an upset at No. 12 Loras on Saturday to fall 76-72.

The Storm (15-5, 7-4 A-R-C) held the lead the majority of the contest and were up by one with less than six minutes to go in the game, but the Duhawks (18-2, 9-2 A-R-C) closed on a 9-4 run to stretch the lead to four at 72-68.

Kia Rasmussen made her only triple of the game with four seconds left to put the game within one at 72-71 to give Simpson a chance at a comeback. The Storm had to foul and Loras connected on two free throws to extend the advantage back to three. Claire Johnson was fouled on the ensuing possession while attempting a 3-pointer, but only made one attempt to stay at a deficit.

Both teams traded blows early as the contest sat tied at 11. Simpson then executed a 10-2 run to pull ahead to 21-13 as the offense shot 4-for-6. The first frame ended with the Storm ahead at 23-17.

Coming out of the break in the second quarter, three different players scored to give the team a 29-19 tilt for Simpson's largest lead of the game at 10 points. Over the next 4:13 of game action, the Duhawks came to within three points at 35-32. Rasmussen drained two free throws to send the game into halftime at 37-32.

Just over three minutes into the third, Loras saw itself garner the lead at 41-40 after making three shots from long range. The Duhawks stretched the tilt to 57-48 with back-to-back 3-pointers.

In the fourth, Simpson issued an 11-6 run to take the lead at 64-63, but the hosts would regain the upper hand 25 seconds later to remain at the top of the league standings.

Jenna Taylor had a team-high 16 points, and Kia Rasmussen and Cassie Nash both scored 15 points. The offense held a 41.8% shooting clip, but only connected on 30.4% of its attempts from deep.

Up Next
Simpson will return to the court on Saturday, Feb. 8 in another road battle, this time at Central.