Simpson holds off Buena Vista for first A-R-C win

STORM LAKE, Iowa – The Simpson College women's basketball team survived a late scare from Buena Vista to secure its first American Rivers Conference victory of the season and push its win streak to four games.

Simpson (6-7, 1-3 A-R-C) built up an 11-point lead in the second half but the Beavers (6-7, 1-4 A-R-C) managed to close the gap completely with a 17-8 run in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 69-69 with exactly two minutes to play. Anna Wanek swished a long-range jumper to put Simpson ahead by two and Molly Lutmer followed with a huge triple to push the lead to five with 17 seconds left. The Storm went 4-for-4 at the line in the closing seconds to capture the 78-71 win.

Lutmer's pivotal three was her third of the quarter and fourth of the night as she finished with 17 points. She has knocked down four or more 3-pointers in each of her last three contests, averaging 20.0 points per game while shooting 60.0 percent from the floor in that span.

Haley Rasmussen and Wanek also scored in double-digits as Rasmussen finished with 20 points and Wanek added 13. Cassie Nash led the team in rebounding (8), assists (4) and steals (4) while contributing six points.

The Beavers were led by McKenna Cone who scored 12 of her 18 points in the final 11 minutes of game time to help charge the home team's comeback.

Up Next
Simpson opens a three-game home stretch on Saturday afternoon. The Storm are set to host Luther for a 2 p.m. tip-off.