Taylor reaches 1,500 points, No. 5/6 Simpson defeats Luther 85-49

DECORAH, Iowa – Jenna Taylor poured in 26 points to reach another career milestone, Cassie Nash made seven baskets while assisting on seven more, and the Simpson College women's basketball team notched their 20th consecutive win in American Rivers Conference play with an 85-49 road victory over Luther.

The No. 5/6 Storm (18-1, 10-0 A-R-C) reached 60 points in the first half for the second time this season and claimed a lead as big as 46 in the second on the way to their 15th-straight win and 10th conference victory of the season.

Taylor grabbed the first six points of the game with two trifectas and the Storm generated an 18-2 run in the final five minutes of the first quarter to lead 34-11 after one. The scoring spree was capped off by another triple from Taylor as she finished the frame with nine points behind Cameron Kincaid who had 10.

Simpson cashed in on six three-pointers in the second quarter en route to a 35-point lead at the break. Taylor knocked down three more long-range attempts, while Morgan Pietig, Kia Rasmussen and Haley Rasmussen added threes as well. The Storm shot 66.7 percent in the second quarter and 61.5 percent overall in the first half.

Taylor's 1,500-point career milestone was reached early in the third quarter as the graduate student opened the second half with six points to give Simpson a 66-32 advantage. The lead was stretched to 42 with a 10-0 run fueled by five from Nash, and a layup from H. Rasmussen to start the fourth gave the Storm their largest lead of the night.

Taylor led the Storm with 26 points and six rebounds, Nash tallied 15 points and a career-high seven assists, and Kincaid added 12 points and four boards. K. Rasmussen was a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc and H. Rasmussen finished with seven points and a team-high three steals.

Simpson ended the game with a 48.5 percent shooting clip from the floor, while the Norse (7-11, 4-5 A-R-C) were limited to 32.8 percent shooting. The Storm made 11 three-pointers in 27 attempts and converted 8-of-10 free throws.

Up Next
Simpson meets up with Luther again on Saturday for a 2 p.m. contest.