Simpson runs out of gas, falls to Coe in double overtime

INDIANOLA, Iowa – Despite an extremely hot start to the game and a career-high 19 points from Molly Lutmer, the Simpson College women's basketball team was unable to pick up its first American Rivers Conference win of the season on Saturday.

Led by two players with 20+ points and 26-for-30 shooting from the free throw line, Coe (5-3, 1-2 A-R-C) managed to come back on multiple occasions and force two extra periods, eventually handing the Storm (2-5, 0-2 A-R-C) a 91-86 loss on their home court.

The Storm opened the game on fire and built an early 21-5 lead with the help of 8 of 16 shooting from the field and 10 Kohawk turnovers. Despite the early onslaught, Simpson only carried a five-point lead into the locker room as Coe finished the second frame with an 11-3 run to trail 36-31.

In the third quarter, Simpson used a 10-0 spurt with baskets from five different players to lead 46-34 with 3:38 remaining. However, the visitors once again put together a late scoring run to cut the lead down to six, 48-42, going into the final 10 minutes of regulation.

The teams went back-and-forth for the first eight minutes of the fourth before Coe used a three from Ellie Wisner and a layup from Kaalyn Petersen to tie the game at 63-all with 1:01 left on the clock. Morgan Pietig drained a triple and Macy Gaskill added a free throw to give the hosts a 67-65 advantage, but the Kohawks managed to force extra minutes with a Caydee Kirkham layup with eight ticks left on the clock.

Simpson looked primed to pull off the overtime win as six straight points from Haley Rasmussen followed by a free throw from Elle Street resulted in a 74-69 lead with under a minute to play. Much like the end of regulation, though, the Kohawks used late magic to extend the contest, outscoring the Storm 7-2 in the final 45 seconds with the help of six points from Molly Buck. Street sank a 3-pointer to provide Simpson a 79-78 edge early in the second overtime period, but the Storm ran out of gas shortly after and the Kohawks escaped with the win.

Coe saw 26 of its points come at the charity stripe, with half of those being scored by Kirkham who finished the contest with 26 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. Petersen poured in 29 points and added 22 rebounds, both game-highs.

Lutmer netted 19 points to lead six Simpson players in double figures. Rasmussen scored 15, including 10 between the two overtime periods, and Anna Wanek added 14 points. Pietig and Gaskill contributed 12 apiece and Street finished the game with 10.

Khloe Wyatt paced the Storm on the glass with seven rebounds, while four others had six. Along with her 12 points, Pietig dished out six assists, stole four balls and blocked two shots. All four were career-highs for the sophomore.

Up Next
The Storm have a week off before traveling to Waverly to face Wartburg next Saturday at 2 p.m.