Simpson climbs rankings, Taylor named national player of the week

INDIANOLA, Iowa – The Simpson College women's basketball team climbed to No. 6 in the D3hoops.com standings and No. 7 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) rankings, and Jenna Taylor was named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Division III National Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 2.

Simpson, which was previously ranked No. 10 in the D3hoops.com Top-25 and No. 8 in the WBCA poll, enters the 2022 portion of its schedule on an eight-game winning streak with an 11-1 overall record. The Storm are 3-0 in the American Rivers Conference and will resume league play on Wednesday when they host Buena Vista at 5:30 p.m.

Taylor's recognition as this week's USBWA National Player of the Week is the first in program history and comes a day after the graduate student earned both the A-R-C Athlete and Player of the Week titles.

A forward from Creston, Iowa, Taylor was one of four players to average double figure scoring in Simpson's four wins over winter break. She scored 26 points in back-to-back games at the Daytona Beach Shootout and added 34 at the Loras Holiday Classic for an overall average of 21.5 points. The graduate student shot 60.0 percent from the field (36-60) and foul line (3-5) and made 47.8 percent of her attempts from behind the arc (11-23).

On the glass, Taylor averaged 7.0 rebounds per game highlighted by two games with 10 which brought her career double-double mark to 19. She also tallied five assists and five steals.

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association is in its seventh season recognizing a male and female national player from Division III. Taylor joins men's basketball alum Sam Amsbaugh, who was recognized in December 2016, as honorees from Simpson.