Storm falter in fourth quarter, fall to Dubuque

INDIANOLA, Iowa – Despite leading by 19 points late in the third quarter, the Simpson College women's basketball team dropped a 77-73 contest to Dubuque on Saturday.

A layup by Anna Wanek gave the Storm a 64-45 lead with 3:45 left in the third, but the Spartans outscored the hosts 32-9 the rest of the way to complete the road comeback. Dubuque (10-6, 4-3 A-R-C) opened the fourth on a 24-3 run as Simpson turned the ball over 11 times in the frame and went cold from the field, making 2 of 12 field goal attempts including just one of seven threes.

Prior to the final quarter, Simpson (8-8, 3-4 A-R-C) had converted nearly 60 percent of its field goals (23-29). The Storm trailed 20-19 after the first stanza but Haley Rasmussen began the second quarter with back-to-back triples and Simpson took a 43-34 lead into the break. Wanek went 3-for-5 from deep to lead the team with 11 points in the first half.

The Storm, who had a season-best outing at the free throw line (14-15), cashed in on all seven attempts in the third quarter to control most of the period. Dubuque briefly closed the gap to single digits with a 3-point play from Morgan Hawkins, but the Storm responded with a 12-2 run fueled by 10 points from Wanek to claim their largest lead of 19. The Spartans chipped away at the lead from there, getting huge help from Isabella Tierney who scored 12 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter comeback.

Simpson coughed the ball up 34 times, which led to 32 points for the Spartans. Kathleen Mathias single-handedly stole 11 possessions away from the Storm.

Wanek posted season-high scoring of 21 points thanks to 8-for-15 shooting from the floor and 5-for-9 shooting from behind the arc. Rasmussen (11), Dylan Holland (10) and Macy Emgarten (10) joined her in double figures.

Morgan Pietig led the team with seven rebounds and dished out six assists, while Cassie Nash registered seven assists, six points, four rebounds and three steals.

The loss ends Simpson's six-game win streak dating back to Dec. 20.

Up Next
Simpson closes out the first half of its American Rivers Conference schedule at Central on Jan. 18.