No. 5/6 Storm clinch second straight A-R-C title

INDIANOLA, Iowa – The No. 5/6 Simpson College women's basketball team clinched the 14th American Rivers Conference Championship in program history with a 79-65 victory over Dubuque on Saturday.

The conference title is the Storm's second in a row after securing the 2021 A-R-C Championship with a 89-84 overtime win over Coe last March. This is the first time Simpson has earned back-to-back titles since winning six-straight between 2008-13.

The game sat at 48-all with a little over 12 minutes left before junior Cassie Nash took over, scoring 12 of the next 13 points while tallying five of her career-high nine steals. Dubuque closed the gap to eight, but a 12-4 run by the home team sealed the deal as they claimed a 72-56 lead with 4:07 left. Regan Freland scored five during the span and added two free throws in the final minute as Simpson secured the 14-point win.

Simpson (21-1, 13-0 A-R-C) was outscored in the first quarter for the first time this season as the Spartans took advantage of an 11-0 scoring spree to lead 21-17. The Storm chipped away at the lead with the help of four points from both Cameron Kincaid and Nash, and Simpson was able to get out in front 39-36 at the break following a 14-2 run in the final 3:54 of the half. Dubuque (14-9, 8-6 A-R-C) regained the lead early in the third before six-straight points from Jenna Taylor tied the game at 48.

Nash finished the game with 24 points and was one steal away from her second career double-double. She shot 56.3 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent at the line, while also dishing out five assists and grabbing four rebounds.

After being limited to five rebounds and three points in the first half, Taylor ended the game with 16 points and 12 rebounds for her second double-double in as many games. Anna Wanek also amassed 16 points to go with five rebounds, two steals and an assist. Kincaid had eight points, Freland scored all seven of her points in the fourth quarter and led the team with seven assists, and Kia Rasmussen sank two 3-pointers and had three assists.

Simpson locks up the No. 1 seed in the A-R-C Tournament set to begin on Feb. 22. The Storm will host a semifinal game on Thursday, Feb. 24, and the Championship game will take place on Feb. 26 at the highest remaining seed. The winner of the tournament receives the league's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III tournament.

Up Next
Simpson closes out its regular-season home schedule with a 5:30 p.m. clash with Nebraska Wesleyan on Feb. 16.