Women’s basketball collects sixth straight victory

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A few hours after rising to No. 8 in the latest edition of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Top-25 Poll, the Simpson College women's basketball team rounded out their time at the Daytona Beach Shootout with a 99-66 win over Westminster.

Simpson (9-1) once again dominated the post in the victory, outscoring Westminster 62-20 in the paint. The Storm tallied 49 rebounds including 19 offensive boards to claim a +14 rebounding margin and had 19 steals, all season-highs.

Jenna Taylor repeated her 26-point, 10-rebound performance from a day ago to lead four players in double figure scoring. Anna Wanek was next with 16 points and six rebounds, and Regan Freland and Cassie Nash each produced 13 points and five rebounds while combining for 11 of Simpson's 27 assists and seven steals.

The Storm wasted no time getting on the board as Freland stole the ball and scored immediately after the opening tip and Kia Rasmussen laid one in off a pass from Hattie Rhodes who helped force the Blue Jays (4-6) into four turnovers in their first five possessions.

A 13-2 run put Simpson ahead 24-11 before back-to-back trifectas from Freland and Taylor widened the gap to 16 through one period. The trio of Taylor (9), Nash (6), and Cameron Kincaid (4) did all the scoring for Simpson in a tight second quarter that saw the team edge Westminster by two to carry a 51-33 lead into the break.

In the second half, the Storm were limited to just one three-pointer but took care of business elsewhere as Simpson poured in 40 points in the paint compared to Westminster's eight. Wanek tallied all but two of her points in the final 20 minutes, making 7-of-9 attempts from field goal range.

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The Storm will finish the 2021 portion of their schedule with a pair of games at the Loras Tournament in Dubuque on Dec. 29-30.