No. 5/6 Storm hit century mark to cap perfect conference season

PELLA, Iowa – Eight players scored in double figures and the Simpson College women's basketball team surpassed the century mark for the first time this season in an 109-64 win at Central, completing another perfect season in American Rivers Conference play.

The No. 5/6 Storm end the regular season on a 20-game win streak and will head into the postseason with a 23-1 overall record. Simpson, which lost one game on the schedule to health and safety protocols, finishes the conference slate with a 15-0 record. This marks the second straight season and third time in program history the team has gone without a conference loss.

Simpson had eight players score 10 or more points led by Jenna Taylor who poured in 17 points, including 15 in the second quarter alone. Cassie Nash was next with 15 points off the bench, while Hattie Rhodes tied her career-high of 13 points. Regan Freland and Cameron Kincaid contributed 11 apiece, and the trio of Haley Rasmussen, Kia Rasmussen, and Anna Wanek each posted 10 points.

Taylor paced the rebounding effort with eight boards, while Nash and Rhodes hauled in six and Dylan Holland added five. Nash dished out a career-high eight assists and K. Rasmussen added seven as the duo combined for 15 of Simpson's 31 assists. The Storm stole away 20 possessions as Nash got her hands on five steals, Freland had three and Kincaid tallied two.

Simpson scored the first seven points of the game before taking a 10-point lead with an 8-0 spurt highlighted by four from Kincaid and a putback basket from Nash. Five straight points from Freland closed out the quarter with the Storm ahead 24-11. The visitors forced Central (6-15, 4-11 A-R-C) into 12 of its 31 turnovers in the opening 10 minutes.

In the second frame, the Storm fired on all cylinders and put 40 points on the board for a 64-37 halftime advantage. Simpson opened the frame on a 26-6 run fueled by seven makes from the 3-point line. K. Rasmussen connected on two and Rhodes knocked down three on three consecutive possessions during the stretch. The Storm didn't miss a shot until the 3:32 mark of the quarter and finished the frame shooting 66.7 percent from the floor with nine triples in 13 attempts.

After being held to a combined four points in the first half, Nash and Wanek put on a clinic in the third quarter with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Nash scored nine during a 16-0 scoring spree and found Wanek open twice in the final three minutes as Simpson reached a 93-49 lead with 10 minutes left to play. A 3-point bucket from H. Rasmussen put the Storm in triple digits at the 5:19 mark of the fourth.

Simpson extends its win streak over the Dutch to 41 games dating back to the 2002-03 season. The Storm have reached the 100-point plateau seven times in the series with the last being a 106-55 road win on Feb. 9, 2011.

Up Next
Simpson will enjoy a bye in the first round of the A-R-C Tournament beginning on Feb. 22. The Storm will then host the winner of Tuesday's 4/5 game between Dubuque and Luther on Thursday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m.