Storm grab season sweep over Nebraska Wesleyan

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- The Simpson women's basketball team battled from the start against Nebraska Wesleyan on Wednesday to secure a 109-84 victory to snap a two-game losing skid in league play.

As both teams looked to find an advantage in the first quarter, Jenna Taylor opened up with 13 points on three makes from deep to help the Storm (16-7, 8-6 A-R-C) own a 25-18 advantage. The Prairie Wolves (7-16, 3-12 A-R-C) had a chance to steal the momentum in the frame with a one-point lead, but the defense faltered to let Simpson drain back-to-back triples to dig itself out of the hole.

In the second, Nebraska Wesleyan shot better, but had its lowest scoring output of the contest with 16 points, compared to the Storm's 27. As halftime approached, Kia Rasmussen, Cassie Nash and Taylor executed an 8-0 spurt to obtain the team's largest lead in the first half of 18.

The short break didn't slow down Simpson on either end of the court. The offense erupted for 31 points after four starters scored at least six points. The game moved to 83-55 at the end of the third period and ballooned to a gap of 34 points in favor of the Storm, their largest of the game after an opening-minute made basket in the fourth from Megan Todd.

The offense was well balanced all evening with six players scoring in double figures. Cameron Kincaid had a team-high 19 points and Jenna Taylor poured in 18 off the bench. Cassie Chubb tallied 16 on 6-for-9 shooting, Cassie Nash contributed 11 and Rasmussen had 10.

In total, Simpson connected on 58.3% of its shots and scored 48 points off the bench, while the visitors had 24. Both teams were nearly identical in the rebounding category, but the Storm held a slight 36-35 edge.

Nebraska Wesleyan was led by Caitlin Navratil's 24 points to match her league-leading average of 23.8 points per outing. Navratil broke two school records in the loss for the Prairie Wolves. The senior passed her previous record of most points in a season of 525 and sits with 548, and she now owns the career assists record with 332.

Up Next
Simpson wraps up the regular season on Saturday in a 2 p.m. contest at home against Buena Vista. The Storm's seniors will be honored after the game.