No. 4/5 Storm to face Gustavus Adolphus in NCAA tourney opener

INDIANOLA, Iowa - The No. 4/5 Simpson College women's basketball team is slated to face Gustavus Adolphus in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Division III Championship on Friday night at Cowles Fieldhouse. 

The Storm (25-1) are making their 14th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since qualifying in 2013. Simpson rolled past Luther 106-75 in the semifinal round of the American Rivers Conference Tournament and earned the league's automatic bid with a 62-59 win over No. 18 Wartburg in the championship.

The Golden Gusties (22-4) won their first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Championship in program history and are making their first appearance in the tournament since 2018 when they advanced to the Sweet 16. Gustavus Adolphus has qualified for eight national tournaments.

No. 18/8 Wisconsin Lutheran (23-1) and Wis.-Oshkosh (19-6) are also in Indianola competing in Friday's first round. The Wisconsin Lutheran Warriors received the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference's automatic bid and the Titans of Wis.-Oshkosh earned one of 20 at-large berths to the tournament.

Tickets can be reserved here and picked up in the Simpson Athletic Department Office between 12-4 p.m. or inside Cowles Fieldhouse at the ticket booth after 4:30 p.m.

Fans unable to attend the game in person can tune in to the live stream on SimpsonAthletics.com through the link below. Todd Guessford will be calling the first game's action with a pregame show beginning at 5:15 p.m. He will be joined by Bryan Geelan for the nightcap beginning shortly after the conclusion of game one.

NCAA DIII TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND
Wisconsin Lutheran (23-1) vs UW-Oshkosh (19-6)
Friday, March 4 | 5:30 p.m.
Cowles Fieldhouse | Indianola, Iowa
Live Video | Live Stats

Gustavus Adolphus (22-4) at Simpson (25-1)
Friday, March 4 | 7:30 p.m.
Cowles Fieldhouse | Indianola, Iowa
Live Video | Live Stats | Live Audio (KNIA/KRLS)

ABOUT THE GOLDEN GUSTIES
Gustavus Adolphus averages 66.8 points per game while shooting 43.0 percent from the floor, 32.0 percent behind the arc, and 69.4 percent at the line… the Golden Gusties' defense holds opponents to 52.2 points, a mark which leads their conference and ranks 34th in the nation… the squad averages just under 37 rebounds per game as well as 14.4 assists, 9.8 steals, and 3.5 blocks… Anna Sanders leads the team in scoring with 12.2 points and shoots 39.1 percent from downtown… Emma Kniefel scores 11.7 per game and leads the team with 57 assists… Rachel Kawiecki (6.5) and Grace Benz (6.3) are the Gusties' lead rebounders… head coach Laurie Kelly is in her 10th season at the helm.

ABOUT THE STORM
Simpson has one of the top offenses in Division III, leading the nation in all three shooting categories (49.1% FG, 38.4% 3FG, 80.2% FT) while averaging the third-most points with 86.7 per game… the Storm share the ball better than any program across the entire NCAA landscape with 21.2 assists per game and lead Division III in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.47)... Simpson has outscored opponents by an average of 24.3 points to rank 10th in the country... the Storm are coached by A-R-C Coach of the Year Brian Niemuth who is in his 35th season at Simpson.

LAST TIME THEY MET
Simpson and Gustavus squared off in both team's season opener back on Nov. 12… the Storm earned an 85-61 victory after converting 10 3-pointers and holding the Golden Gusties to just two triples in 18 attempts… Simpson led 27-18 after one period and pushed its lead to 19 at the break with the help of 6-of-8 shooting from distance in the second quarter… Gustavus Adolphus pulled within 10 as the game approached the final quarter, but Simpson produced a 12-0 run to cruise to the win… Jenna Taylor (22 pts, 14 reb) was the leader for the Storm, while Emma Kniefel (22 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast) paved the way for the Golden Gusties.

PICK YOUR POISON
Five players average double-digit scoring for Simpson led by A-R-C MVP Jenna Taylor with 16.5 points per game… Cassie Nash adds 15.2, Cameron Kincaid chips in 13.3, and Anna Wanek (11.0) and Regan Freland (10.8) round out the team's top-scorers… Nash (59.8) has the sixth-highest field goal percentage in Division III, while Taylor (57.5), Kincaid (53.5) and Wanek (51.6) all convert at a rate higher than 50 percent as well… from beyond the arc, Kia Rasmussen (48.1) leads the team in efficiency followed by Taylor (45.0) and Wanek (41.5)… Kincaid (93.1) leads the country in free throw percentage with 94 makes in 101 attempts.

RECORD WATCH
With five more takeaways, Cassie Nash will surpass Dana Johnson for the program's single-season record of 91 steals set during the 2005-06 season… she currently ranks second after passing Darrina Bledsoe's 86 from 2009-10 with three in Simpson's last time out… Nash averages 3.4 steals per game to rank 15th in the country and has the seventh-most steals of any Division III player.

SIMPSON IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
1st - Field goal percentage (49.1)
1st - Three-point percentage (38.4)
1st - Free throw percentage (80.2)
1st - Total assists (551)
1st - Assists per game (21.2)
1st - Assist-to-turnover ratio (1.47)
3rd - Total scoring (2,255)
3rd - Scoring offense (86.7)
10th - Scoring margin (24.3)
12th - Three-point field goals made per game (9.2)
13th - Total three-point field goals made (239)
15th - Steals per game (13.4)

STORM IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
1st - Kia Rasmussen, assist-to-turnover ratio (4.65)
1st - Cameron Kincaid, free throw percentage (93.1)
2nd - Jenna Taylor, three-point percentage (45.0)
6th - Cassie Nash, field goal percentage (59.8)
7th - Cassie Nash, total steals (87)
11th - Jenna Taylor, field goal percentage (57.5)
15th - Cassie Nash, steals per game (3.35)

UP NEXT
The winner's of Friday night's games will meet in Cowles Fieldhouse for a 5 p.m. game on Saturday, March 5.

*Rankings based on D3hoops.com/WBCA polls