No. 5/6 Storm grind out victory over Loras

INDIANOLA, Iowa – The Simpson College women's basketball team used another career night from Anna Wanek and big scoring from Cameron Kincaid late in the game to pick up an 81-74 win over Loras in Wednesday night's conference action.

The No. 5/6 Storm, who went into the fourth quarter facing a deficit for the first time this season, extended their win streak to 13 games while also notching their 15th consecutive victory inside Cowles Fieldhouse. Simpson (16-1, 8-0 A-R-C) has been victorious in its last 18 contests in American Rivers Conference play.

After a back-and-forth battle in the first quarter, the Duhawk offense exploded for five triples in the early minutes of the second quarter to grab a double-digit lead at 34-24 with 4:28 left in the half. Wanek and Kia Rasmussen combined for nine points over the next two minutes and Wanek's third triple of quarter pulled Simpson within one before the visitors ended the half with a layup to send the Storm into the break trailing for just the second time this season.

A three-point bucket from Kincaid and seven straight points between Wanek and Jenna Taylor tied the game at 54-all with 4:01 to go in the third. The Duhawks (12-6, 6-3 A-R-C) then pushed back out in front by seven as Madison Fleckenstein and Hannah Thiele worked together for nine points.

Trailing 63-56 with a little over 11 minutes of game left, Taylor ended the third quarter with five points and Kincaid scored nine of the next 16 to help Simpson overcome the deficit and take a six-point advantage at 73-67. Loras trimmed the lead to four with a jumper, and after nearly three minutes of scoreless action, Kincaid and Wanek made back-to-back layups to place the game at 77-69. In the final 30 seconds of play, Rasmussen and Regan Freland went 4-of-4 at the line and the Duhawks hit one final triple after coming up empty in their last 14 long-range attempts.

For the third time in four games, Wanek reached a new career-high scoring mark and led the Storm with 22 points. The senior from Urbandale, Iowa knocked down a career-high five three-pointers while shooting 62.5 percent behind the arc and also set a new personal best of eight rebounds.

Kincaid finished second in scoring and rebounding for Simpson with 21 points and seven rebounds while also dishing out a game-high seven assists and grabbing two steals. Ramussen had eight points, five rebounds and five assists, and Freland added eight points and four rebounds.

Taylor ended the game with five rebounds and 15 points, bringing her career scoring total to 1,466 which surpasses Michelle Stover's mark of 1,458 between 1998-02 to rank fourth all-time.

Simpson was 46.2 percent efficient both from the floor and three-point range and made 9-of-10 free throws, while Loras shot 40.3 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from deep and 57.1 percent at the line. The Storm outrebounded the Duhawks 40-39, a major improvement from the two teams' matchup earlier this season where Loras posted a 37-24 advantage on the glass.

Up Next
The Storm travel to Waverly looking to sweep the season series against the Wartburg Knights, who are ranked No. 12 in the D3hoops.com poll and No. 15 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association standings.